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THERE has been a 20% increase in the amount of people caught in possession of drugs for personal use in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period of 2018.
This was revealed at the latest meeting of the Joint Policing Committee meeting held at Kerry Country Council buildings at Rathass on Friday morning.
Kerry Chief Superintendent Eileen Foster addressed the meeting and gave the latest crime statistics for the Kerry area for Quarters 1-3 this year.
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The amount of people caught in possession of drugs for sale or supply rose from 66 to 68, a 3% rise. There were 484 people caught in possession of drugs for personal use, up 20%. The vast majority of the cases were for cannabis possession.
Chief Superintendent Foster said she was not surprised at the increase in detections as the numbers of gardai in the drug squad had increased so searches of persons and premises had also risen.
