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Drugs seizures welcomed

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

POLICE seizures of drugs worth some £11,000 in the Cookstown and Moneymore areas at the weekend have been welcomed by local politicians.
The drugs were seized following searches of six properties on Friday night (July 24). The haul includes Cannabis plants along with other drugs-related paraphernalia. Two men, aged 33 and 38 were arrested and subsequently bailed pending further investigations.
A further four people, two men and two women are to be reported to the PPS for various offences including supplying illegal drugs. All items seized are to be subjected to forensic testing.
DUP Mid-Ulster Assembly member Ian McCrea, who is also a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said: "Drugs such as cannabis receive a somewhat milder press than they deserve with celebrities and the media glamourising the use of such substances as a bit of harmless fun, yet it is through cannabis that many young people begin down a road of self-destruction.
“Scientific evidence has shown that those who use cannabis are more likely to develop mental health problems and memory loss and to move on to the consumption of harder drugs such as heroin and ecstasy. These drugs, had they been sold by criminals in the Cookstown and Moneymore areas would have had a very damaging impact upon the local community especially our younger population. I am pleased therefore at the success of the recent police operations to stamp out this illegal trade in harmful drugs. I hope that we will see further raids and more of this poison being taken out of circulation."
Meanwhile Mid-Ulster MLA Billy Armstrong said that the seizures are proof that the police are being pro-active in trying to remove the "scourge" of drugs in our communities.
“There was a time when local people would have regarded the illegal drugs trade as something which happened in big cities, and not something which was a concern for those of us living in small towns and rural communities," said Mr Armstrong.
He continued: "This latest seizure of drugs with an estimated street value of £11,000 as a result of searches in Cookstown and Moneymore, demolishes that myth.
“Sadly, the menace of drugs and the reach of unscrupulous dealers has spread throughout Northern Ireland and the Police can only succeed with the help of local people and communities. There is no question that drugs wreck lives and destroy families and communities and everyone must assist the Police with information in order to help them remove both drugs and their dealers from our midst.
“In addition to working with the Police to help them tackle drug dealers and reduce the supply of drugs, we must also work even harder to educate our young people to ensure that the demand for drugs is reduced. Young people must realise that they are risking their long-term health, and even their lives, for a short-term high.
“If we can succeed in reducing the demand for drugs, we will remove the incentive for drug dealers to supply them."

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