‘Turf war’ fears as cases mount

Drug addiction counsellors and team leaders have spoken of the level of intimidation that drug dealers are putting on their customers in order to collect drug debts.

A drug addiction counsellor working in the New Ross area said there is a turf war going on between dealers.

‘People don’t have the money to pay their debts,’ the counsellor said.

She said the use of synthetic drugs like Bonzai has fallen, but other drugs have taken its place. These include fake Xanax type drugs and even crack cocaine.

‘You can get anything. It isn’t really hard to get what you want.’

CBDI team leader John Paul O’Neill said: ‘Bonzai was a big problem in New Ross. It’s still there but the real problems relate to the use of cocaine and heroin. You would be naive to think that alcohol wasn’t also a huge problem..’

He said the family support network and gardaí have a policy around drug related intimidation nationally. ‘We try to encourage people to be responsible. It’s a really dangerous situation and we would be anxious ourselves around the threat of it as people can put themselves at risk.’

Paul Delaney of the Cornmarket Project said: ‘ There has certainly been an increase in intimidation as dealers come looking for outstanding debts because their own cash flow has slowed down. They’re trying to maximise their income.’