€600,000 worth of drugs have been seized in Kerry so far this year.
This was revealed at today’s Joint Policing Committee meeting, where Chief Superintendent of the Kerry Garda Division Eileen Foster gave public representatives, community groups and the media an update on crime levels.
Chief Superintendent Eileen Foster says possession of drugs for sale or supply in the county over the first nine months of the year was one of the few categories of crime to increase.
During the nine-month period, there were 75 possession of drugs for sale or supply offences, an increase of 19% on the previous year and nearly 30% on 2018.
The possession of drugs for personal use reduced by one-fifth, with 351 detections over nine months.
Chief Superintendent Foster says €600,000 worth of drugs have been seized so far this year by Kerry gardaí, including mature, useable drugs and items being cultivated.
She says the most common drugs seized are cannabis and cocaine.
The top garda in Kerry says the value of the seizures is both good and bad: it shows the high detection rate by gardaí, however, it shows how prevalent drugs are in the county.