Major foreign drug gangs may try and muscle into the lucrative cocaine market in Ireland by underselling domestic suppliers or by filling gaps caused by the dismantling of Irish crime groups, according to new research. The British-Irish analysis said this happened in the UK with the arrival of Albanian organised crime groups, which have global connections in drug trafficking. It said Albanian organised crime does currently "have a presence in Ireland and has started to establish itself", but, to date, has not made any "aggressive moves" into the cocaine market. He found the island of Ireland was treated as a “single market” by crime groups in Ireland and in Britain. He said the market for cocaine was “extending quite significantly” and was a huge source of income.

Source: Irish Examiner March 31, 2022 10:03 UTC