KIDS OF 10 DEALING DRUGS
Thugs force young victims to pay off family debts in sickening intimidation
IRISH school kids as young as 10 are dealing drugs, a shocking new report has found.
And even eight-year-olds are involved in the distribution as “runners” on sprawling estates.
The report by Blanchardstown Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force in West Dublin reveals children are being forced to sell drugs to pay off family debts.
It said: “Intimidation takes many forms including forcing victims to hold or deal drugs or hold firearms.”
CHILDREN as young as eight are being used as drug runners and some are dealing at the age of 10, a new study has found.
The shocking report also warns “drug debt intimidation” – forcing minors to hold and sell narcotics to work off what they or other family members owe – is on the rise.
It added this was an issue for treated and untreated users and said: “Intimidation takes many forms including forcing victims to hold or deal drugs or hold firearms to pay off debts.”
The trend report for 2018 compiled by the Blanchardstown Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force shows a sharp increase in the number of minors peddling narcotics.
AVERAGE
Among under-18s, the average age of a drug “runner” is 13 while the youngest reported last year was just eight.
The average age of a minor dealer was 14 and the youngest reported was a schoolboy of 10.
Earlier this week the Irish Mirror reported how drug pushers are involved in a bitter turf war in West Dublin with at least seven shootings reported in recent days.
A gang war has broken out on the streets of Corduff, near Blanchardstown, as two feuding factions of a drug gang trade tit-for-tat gun attacks in broad daylight. According to the research, conducted by Janet Robinson and Jim Doherty, young people see drug dealing as a way to make “easy money” and boost their social status.
They noted: “An explanation for the youngest ages was reported to be that older family members were drug dealers.”
With polydrug use on the rise the types of drugs manufactured in D15 include cannabis, Benzos, Z drugs, MDMA and, for the first time, crack cocaine. The 118-page document analysing drug trends in West Dublin revealed underage runners and dealers were “predominantly male” though females aged 12 and over were also engaged in the trade.
The Drug and Alcohol Trends Monitoring System 2018 report said drug availability had increased across D15. The sprawling suburb includes affluent areas such as Castleknock and disadvantaged pockets such as Mulhuddart and Corduff and is in Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s constituency.
The report said availability was greater due to an increase in dealers, dealers making home deliveries, people buying illegal drugs online and from some GPS.
It referred to the “normalisation” of drugs, including alcohol and cannabis, but also cocaine, tablets such as Benzodiazepines and Z drugs, opiates and steroids. The study said users rarely had to travel outside the locality to get their hands on a fix, and when they did it was usually to get a better price.
It added: “The common perception was that drugs were widely used, risk free and socially acceptable.”
The study also found inter-generational drug and alcohol use spanning two to three generations was found in almost half of treated drug users.
news@irishmirror.ie
HOW shocking that children as young as 10 are now dealing in drugs.
And that eight-year-olds are involved as “runners” on sprawling estates.
Children of that age should be enjoying games with their friends – not dealing in death.
Drug lords have a lot to answer for but this must rank as the lowest of the low.
But then with such lowlifes, there is no depths to which they won’t plunge in order to sell more poison.
Let’s hope gardai catch those in charge and cut the head off the snake – and let innocent children enjoy their days again.