Gardaí say reported drug-related intimidation just ‘tip of the iceberg’

Criminals are selling drug debts on to other groups who enforce what is allegedly owed at a higher amount, the Garda Commissioner has said.

Commissioner Justin Kelly said drug-related intimidation has “been around for a long time” and has led to death.

The activity often involves threats and the use of violence against people with alleged drug debts and their family members, with the commissioner saying criminals have also damaged property or threatened to rape victims’ family members.

Victims can also be directed by criminals into targeting others with similar action to pay off their own alleged debt.

An interagency group recorded 1,027 cases of drug-related intimidation in 2024-2025, with data for the first year considered incomplete.

Mr Kelly told a meeting of the Policing and Community Safety Authority in Co Cavan on Thursday that drug-related intimidation is “absolutely terrifying” for families, adding that existing levels of reporting are the “tip of the iceberg”.

He appealed to people impacted by drug-related intimidation to contact gardaí.

He told the Authority: “It goes without saying, the numbers that are reported do not reflect the situation, and we we certainly do not say that – we wouldn’t claim that.

“The numbers that we have are are the tip of the iceberg because people are afraid to come forward. Of course they are.”

The Commissioner described recent back-to-back incidents of drug-related intimidation as “unfathomable”.

He said: “What it particularly challenging is we have all sorts of things going on around the debt.

“Sometimes people can owe a debt; it can be sold on to another another criminal group, who will then enforce the debt at a higher amount.”

He added: “Sometimes when money is paid over, that’s not enough. There’s more. There’s all sorts of threats involved in it.

“So it’s not straightforward to deal with, and the thing is, for families that are caught in this, of course, it’s hugely traumatic for them.”

Mr Kelly said that it does not matter if people think there is a stigma around alleged drug debts, adding: “If they’re scared around it – whatever it is – they need to speak to somebody about it.”

He said gardaí have a dedicated drug-related intimidation inspector in every division, adding that people can make anonymous reports without even coming into a garda station.

He added that gardaí have also investigated people involved in the activity in situations where a victim did not make a formal complaint.

Mr Kelly said: “There are other avenues that you can take, and I think the worst thing, from my point of view, is families trying to deal with this on their own and falling into certain traps: Paying money and then it just being never ending.”

He added: “People need to come forward to us, and we will certainly provide them with advice.

“And the other thing is, just because you come to the guards, you know, you still have agency.

“We are not going to force you to do anything.

“We’re not going to force you to take a prosecution.”

Deputy Commissioner Paul Cleary said the level of violence “being used nowadays” and the willingness of criminals to involve all members of families is “concerning”.

He said that people involved in drug-related intimidation such as attacking houses are often themselves victims “doing it to pay off their own debt”.

The senior gardaí pointed to the Drive (Drug Related Intimidation & Violence Engagement) interagency project as another avenue for affected people.

Asked by authority chairwoman Dr Elaine Byrne if drug-related intimidation should be an offence in of itself, the commissioner said: “I think sometimes there’s a rush for new legislation all the time to resolve things.

“There’s plenty of legislation there to deal with offences, but perhaps what has been done in other areas is there’s additional tariffs.

“If it is motivated by something, there can be an additional sentencing part to it.”