Crackdown on Tralee dealers

GARDAÍ are in the midst of a significant crackdown on drug dealing in the greater Tralee area.

In recent weeks it has become apparent – in the wake of several noteworthy drug seizures – that the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit have increased the scope of their operations against the drugs trade.

Notable successes include two recent large seizures of street-ready heroin and pills which, it is understood, had only just been brought into the county.

On several occasions in recent weeks plainclothes officers have been seen monitoring activities in and around Casement Train station and the adjacent Bus Eireann station at John Joe Sheehy Road in Tralee.

The garda presence at the train station, where dealers are known to regularly ply their trade in the busy car park, is understood to have resulted in a number of arrests.

These included one arrest in the last week which saw a suspected dealer, who had just arrived in the town, detained with several thousand Euros worth of heroin that had already been wrapped into individual ‘deals’ and was ready for immediate sale.

There has also been an increased Garda presence on the Lee River Walk, which has become a popular haunt for drug dealers and users, leading to complaints from the public.

The Gardaí’s success in dealing with public order problems along the Lee walk have led to calls for a similar crackdown along the secluded Big River walk – running south from Killeen as far as upper Ashe Street – which is increasingly used by dealers using bicycles to quickly travel up and down the route.