Galway Bay fm newsroom - Almost 400 thousand euro worth of drugs have been seized by gardaí in the city since the beginning of the year.
That's according to the latest garda figures which were presented at a meeting of the City Joint Policing Committee today.
Cannabis topped the list of illegal drugs seized with a value of almost 200 thousand euro - this included the discovery of a growhouse worth 18 thousand euro.
Almost 100 thousand euro of ecstacy was seized while more than 28 thousand euro worth of heroin was seized.
11 and a half thousand euro worth of cocaine and 18 thousand euro worth of other drugs were confiscated by gardaí.
The number of detections for sale or supply of drugs in the city rose by almost a fifth compared to the same period last year.
Chief Superintendent of Galway Garda Division, Tom Curley told members of the JPC that many drug addicts in the city are turning to crime and burglary to feed their habit, which can cost up to 15 hundred euro a week.
He added that there have been two big seizures of e-tablets since January, worth about 40 thousand euro each, one of which was made in the past three months.
Several members of the JPC said that a drug crime should not just be treated as a crime issue anymore and should also be treated as a health issue with the necessary support provided to agencies such as treatment centres.
