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DART line targeted by drug dealers

Thursday, 29 May 2008

HEROIN dealers are using the DART system to distribute the deadly drug, Northside People can reveal.
Dealers are pushing drugs to addicts on trains as they run from Connolly station out to Howth and on the return journey.
Reliable sources have told Northside People that dealers get on the DART and arrange via mobile phone to meet addicts at the various rail stations along the nine mile route from Connolly to Howth.
The dealer meets the addicts at each station, conducts the drug transaction and then hops on the next train to meet more addicts at the next pre-arranged rendezvous.
The drug dealing continues until the pushers’ supplies have been exhausted.
One drugs outreach worker based on the Northside said she was shocked when she discovered what was going on.
“I actually came across this method of drug dealing by accident,” she revealed
“I noticed a group of addicts I knew all standing at a Northside DART station quite early in the morning and thought it was strange.
“I mentioned to one of them later in the day that I saw him and he confirmed to me that he was waiting for a dealer to arrive. He said it was the handiest way to score drugs at the moment.”
A heroin addict from the Baldoyle area told Northside People that there were several drug dealers who use the DART system as a method of distributing drugs.
“It’s really like a ready-made courier service when you think about it,” he said.
“Drug dealers don’t like to have a lot of people hanging around street corners or at shops because it draws attention to them.
“By using the DART they are constantly on the move and they can send addicts to different stations so crowds don’t become a problem.”
The addict went on to say that gardai were not a problem on the DART and added that they were not deterred by the presence of Iarnrod Eireann security.
“You seldom see any gardai on the DART unless there’s some specific incident that they’re called to, but they don’t patrol the system,” he explained.
“If a dealer sees a couple of security guys on one train he simply gets off that train and heads in the opposite direction - that’s what makes the DART so handy.”
A spokesperson for Iarnrod Eireann said a private security company was retained by them to provide security on the DART system.
“This company has been with us for several years and we are very pleased with them,” a spokesperson said.
“Officers continually patrol the system and conduct surveillance on the trains. In conjunction with these measures we have regular meetings with the gardai where security measures are constantly reviewed.
“We had an incident recently at Killester station where an individual was observed acting suspiciously and the gardai were called and subsequently arrested this person.
“We are continually vigilant, but the DART system by its very nature is quite a difficult system to police.”
The Garda Press Office had no comment to make when contacted.

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