Cannabis now as profitable as cocaine as supply from legal markets surges

Profits made by Irish drugs gangs from cannabis now rival those from the cocaine trade, as criminals source it at low prices from countries where it has been legalised or laws relaxed. Changes in the international cannabis wholesale market are so significant that the economics of the Irish drugs trade have fundamentally shifted, Garda sources told The Irish Times. It has become much easier to buy good-quality herbal cannabis – from the US, Canada and Thailand – at lower wholesale prices, greatly increasing the profits to be made in the Republic and reducing the risks for the Irish criminals involved.Det Chief Supt Seamus Boland, who leads the Garda’s Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DocB), told The Irish Times the barriers to entry to the cannabis trade, by those buying at source abroad, have reduced, encouraging smaller operators. READ MOREHe explained that even relatively minor figures in the Irish drugs trade were now travelling to places such as Canada and buying small quantities of cannabis herb, intended for the legal market in those countries, but then smuggling it into the illicit market in Ireland.They did not need to deal with dangerous cartels abroad, and there was little risk from local law enforcement because the drug is legal in these locations. The only major significant risk was losing a consignment if it was seized when being smuggled into Ireland. “Usually it’s in quantities of less than 5kg, and they are sending it back to Ireland in parcel post,” he said of smaller Irish drug dealers travelling abroad to countries where the drug has been legalised. “We have seen a number of times now that they’re using the addresses of minors, 16- or 17-year-olds.”[ ‘They’ll use AI for new drugs’: Ireland’s arms race with organised crimeOpens in new window ]Boland added the dealers were often pressuring these young people into allowing their addresses to be used to take receipt of the drugs sent by courier. This shifted the risk of detection on to the younger people.Garda research in recent months concluded cannabis herb is now being bought from Irish wholesalers, after being smuggled into the country, for between €3,500 and €4,000 per kilogram. It fetches €14,000 on the streets of the Republic, allowing a profit of up to €10,000 per kilo.The Garda has now officially revalued a kilogram of cannabis herb at €14,000, down from €20,000 just months ago, reflecting the changing trade. Though the value of the drug has fallen in Ireland, profits have still increased. The wholesale cost is so low because the supply lines are overstocked at a time when demand from drug users is at record levels.[ US becomes main cannabis supplier to Irish market as drug smuggling boomsOpens in new window ]The Garda has recently gained specific intelligence proving the biggest domestic gangs are clearing a profit of circa €10,000 per kilo of cocaine, after the high cost base is taken into account. Cocaine needs to be bulked up with mixing agents and repackaged in a labour-intensive, thus costly, process. No such processing is required with cannabis herb. That means, unlike with cocaine, that most of the differential between buying a kilo of cannabis herb wholesale in Ireland for about €4,000, and selling it in smaller street deals for about €14,000 per kilo, is profit.Large quantities of the drug are being smuggled into the Republic in freight through ports and airports. Some 60 per cent of the cannabis seized at Irish ports, airports and at parcel-sorting centres last year was from the US, Canada and Thailand.[ Large increase in cannabis being smuggled into Ireland through postal systemOpens in new window ]In 2019, the total value of cannabis seized at point of entry into the Republic that originated in the US, Canada and Thailand combined was €4 million. That grew to €64 million last year. This recent spike in drug smuggling, especially from the US, has resulted in a 10-fold increase in the value of cannabis seized by Revenue’s Customs officers since 2019, to almost €110 million last year.