Young people in Tipperary getting caught with 'very high' drug debts

The overall number of drug related searches in the Tipperary Garda Division has increased by 54%.

Chief Superintendent Derek Smart told the recent County Tipperary Joint Policing Committee meeting that there were 504 searches for the possession of drugs for personal use and 148 searches for the possession of drugs for sale or supply.

He highlighted that there has been an expansion of Adult Cautioning Scheme to include offences under Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (simple possession). This relates to the possession of cannabis and cannabis resin only. No other controlled drugs are permitted under the Adult Cautioning Scheme.

“There are a lot of young people getting caught up in this activity and we couldn’t give them an adult caution, so they ended up with a conviction which stayed with them and impacted on applications such as for foreign travel,” he said.

“They will be given another chance. Once that chance is gone, it can’t be used for any other offence or issues that they come into contact with us for,” he continued.

Mattie McGrath TD said more garda resources are needed to tackle the “scourge” of drug crime across Tipperary.

Martin Browne TD questioned whether young people are being “dragged” into drug crime “because they owe money to the bigger dealers”.

In reply, Chief Superintendent Smart said young people across all of society are getting caught up in drug crime. “Young people are being sucked into this kind of behaviour. They are being used and abused because of their age and as a way of making a quick bit of money. In a lot of circumstances young people are getting caught with very high debts,” he said.

He said there is an inspector in the Division responsible for tackling this issue and called on the public to make gardaí aware of any person who is coming under pressure to pay drug debts. “We have concentrated this year on the possession with intent to supply, which is the next level up the chain, to stop that coming down to young people and to protect them as best we can,” he said.