How drug dealing gangs are openly selling their filth on one of Ireland’s busiest corners

A major garda clampdown has been ordered to tackle open drug dealing on one of Ireland’s busiest street corners.

Uniformed patrols have been ordered to closely monitor the area surrounding Dublin City’s O’Connell Bridge after a series of violent incidents over the past month.

Operation Pier was reactivated last Wednesday and already it has driven a dent into the seedy drug trade.

Dozens of users fled the short distance from O’Connell Street after a similar operation was put in place by
Store Street station officers after Christmas.

A senior source explained: “These drug dealers and users were knocked across the river by heavy patrols. Now gardai on the southside aren’t willing to just accept this problem which is detrimental to our city. So they are attempting to knock them on again.”

Our undercover reporter spent a day observing the corner of Aston Quay and Westmoreland Street after a number of businesses complained.

Gangs of up to 24 users and dealers were gathering at the busy corner daily with regular fights and aggressive behaviour breaking out.

One businessman, who was too afraid to give his name, said: “They are gathering from early morning. They are using phone boxes to deal drugs. They are using them as toilets and they are even having sex inside there.

“I have seen girls pulling drugs out of their backsides, then handing them to guys who put them straight in their mouths. It is despicable.”

Our undercover team observed gangs gathering shortly after 11am on Thursday. Masked and carrying backpacks, drugs were quickly passed from dealers to users.

The deals were pulled from socks, pockets and even underpants.

“Spotters” stood at the corner of D’Olier Street and further down Aston Quay watching out for gardai. A loud whistle is sounded if anything seems out of the ordinary.

At one point a woman spotted our cameraman and screamed: “I’ll blow your f*****g head off.” Throughout the day crowds gathered at different times but gardai arrived and dispersed the mobs.

Dozens of searches were carried out and the Irish Mirror also observed a number of arrests.

The operation was led by Supt Joe Gannon, from Pearse Street Garda station.

Councillor Mannix Flynn said the problems in the south inner city have exploded in the past two weeks. He added: “It has had an enormous impact on the people who have to live and work in the area.

“Regular people are having to step over drug users, drug paraphernalia, excrement. Disgraceful.

“What you have here is a level of tolerance, enabling and to a certain extent facilitating this kind of behaviour by the authorities.

“That area near O’Connell Bridge is now a hot zone. Over the past couple of weeks it is a regular drop-off and meeting point for dealers and addicts.”

He explained the problem has got so bad even priests have removed holy water from outside their churches because of reports that users are washing their needles in the basins.

Cllr Flynn said gardai can only do so much to tackle the problem. Due to a clustering of support facilities in Dublin city centre, users have been flocking in each day for more than a decade.  

This puts a large strain on the capital with drug abusers from across the country spending days congregating together. Mr Flynn said a lack of “joined-up thinking” has meant the problem has never been properly addressed.

He added: “You have a certain group that are bent on intimidatory behaviour. Fear is on the streets and there is a direct threat on the streets.

“There are a lot of assaults and there are also a lot of assaults that are going unreported because people are simply too afraid to press charges.”

Mr Flynn called for the creation of “safe zones” around the city centre where members of the public can be empowered in the fight against anti-social behaviour.

Similar zones have been created in the UK and the councillor said they have worked effectively.

He added: “We have a social crisis on our streets. We are dealing with the symptoms – ie the abusers – on a day to day basis through countless services.

“But the victims, the regular people of Dublin, are not being given the same support.”

SOURCE-IRISH MIRROR