Drug Debt & Threats in Ireland

Year 2024Episode 6440 minSep 12, 2024
Drug Debt & Threats in Ireland

As Ireland records the highest number of drug treatment cases on record, a special RTÉ Prime Time report tonight asks how bad is the drug debt issue in Ireland, and can anything be done to stop it destroying lives?

Drug users are racking up tens of thousands in debts while some innocent families - who are victims of drug related intimidation - have had to flee the country. The prevalence of cocaine in every town and village is Ireland, is such that cows, tractors and farm land are being sold by farmers to pay off drug debts. 

Drug related intimidation occurs when a criminal or criminals allege that a sum of money is owed as a result of a drug debt. It usually involves family members of the person in debt being subjected to intimidation or the threat of intimidation.

The consequences of the current high rates of cocaine use can be terrifying as people face threats and violence from drug dealers seeking repayment.

People working in addiction services have told RTÉ Prime Time some farmers have sold livestock, farm land and machinery such as tractors to pay off drug debts.  It is not uncommon for a farmer to pay €50,000 to clear off a family member's drug debt and make a drug dealer go away.

Drug Debt & Threats in Ireland has aired on Sep 12, 2024 at 9:35 PM
Previous EpisodeNext Episode

Trailer

We do not have any trailers for this episode

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Running

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Belly Conklin is about to turn 16, and she's headed to her favorite place in the world, Cousins Beach, to spend the summer with her family and the Fishers. Belly's grown up a lot over the past year, and she has a feeling that this summer is going to be different than all the summers before.

Emily in Paris
Running

Emily in Paris

After landing her dream job in Paris, Chicago marketing exec Emily Cooper embraces her adventurous new life while juggling work, friends and romance.

Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller
Running

Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller

Armed with National Geographic's trademark inside access, Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller takes viewers on a journey inside the most dangerous black markets on the planet. Each investigation in the eight-part series embeds with Peabody and duPont Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller as she explores the complex and often violent inner workings of a smuggling network. While she dives deeper and deeper into these underworlds, Mariana reveals - with characteristic boldness and empathy - that the people operating these trafficking rings are often a lot more like us than we realize.

GenreCrime
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for Stand Up to Cancer
Running

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for Stand Up to Cancer

In the first ever celebrity series of SAS: Who Dares Wins, 12 well-known faces embark on one of the toughest tests of their lives, to raise money for Stand Up To Cancer. They're living and surviving together in an unforgiving ex-military base, high in the Chilean Andes. From the recruits' very first challenge - a terrifying backwards dive out of a helicopter - Ant Middleton and his team of ex-special forces instructors are determined to show them that no allowances will be made for their celebrity status.

Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine
Running

Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine

Dave Turin spent years working alongside Todd Hoffman and earned the nickname "Dozer Dave." Now, Dave is planning a spectacular return to gold mining, as he searches for a lost and abandoned mine to resurrect, and chase the gold the old-timers left behind.