Illegal substances need to be cut off at the source

In the Seanad this week Senator Deirdre Clune has called on the Minister for Justice to crack down on the countless amounts of illegal substances which are imported into Ireland each day. This is in response to reports that an 18-year-old girl had to have her colon removed after she consumed diet pills which were purchased online. The teenager bought the herbal slimming agent, Botanical Soft Gel to lose weight but fell ill soon after she began taking the unregulated tablets.

“Between 2009 and 2011, there has been a 600pc increase in the number of these types of products detained by the IMB and Revenue Customs.

“This girl was not overweight and could have lost her life in the quest for a slimmer figure. We need to educate young people on the grave risks they are undertaking by consuming these unregulated products.

“Another incident relating to illegal substances being sold in Ireland was the very sad drug related deaths of Liam Coffey and Michael Coleman in Kinsale in Cork last month. The two young men had taken a synthetic drug cocktail.

“The issue of head shops are not a thing of the past. Customs officers and the Garda Síochána say that since the banning of the synthetic products sold by head shops in 2010, the trade has gone underground.

“Increasing quantities of drugs are now being sourced outside of Ireland from places like China, Holland, Baltic Countries and Poland etc.

“Both of these occurrences relate to the flow of illegal and harmful substances into Ireland, I intend to raise this issue with the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter because I believe that more could be done to crack down on the importing of drugs.

“Customs control should be given the adequate resources to tackle this kind of crime by intervening before these drugs can cause serious illness and in some cases death.”