Irish cannabis profits now rival cocaine trade, Garda sources say

Profits generated by Irish drug gangs from cannabis now rival those from the cocaine trade as criminals source the drug at low prices from regions where laws have been relaxed, according to The Irish Times. Significant shifts in the international wholesale cannabis market have fundamentally altered the economics of the Irish narcotics trade, Garda sources indicated.

Global Supply Shifts Drive Down Wholesale Costs

Securing good-quality herbal cannabis from countries like the US, Canada, and Thailand has become substantially easier and cheaper, which significantly widens profit margins for operators in the Republic while lowering their operational risks. Det Chief Supt Seamus Boland, who leads the Garda’s Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DocB), told The Irish Times that reduced barriers to entry at the source have encouraged smaller operators to enter the market.

Instead of dealing with dangerous international cartels, relatively minor figures in the Irish underworld now travel to places such as Canada to purchase small quantities of cannabis herb intended for legal retail markets abroad before smuggling it illicitly into Ireland. The primary operational risk these smaller dealers face is simply the potential loss of a shipment if intercepted by authorities during transit into the country.

Boland explained the mechanics of these smaller operations:

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.
Det Chief Supt Seamus Boland

Dealers frequently pressure these young people into accepting deliveries sent by courier, effectively shifting the risk of initial detection onto teenagers.

Narrowing Profit Gaps Between Cannabis and Cocaine

Recent Garda research indicates that cannabis herb smuggled into the country is bought from Irish wholesalers for between €3,500 and €4,000 per kilogram. Because the drug commands roughly €14,000 on the streets of the Republic, dealers can pocket a profit of up to €10,000 per kilo.

Reflecting these market changes, the Garda officially revalued a kilogram of cannabis herb at €14,000, dropping the figure down from €20,000 recorded just months prior. Despite this drop in street value, overall profits have climbed because wholesale costs remain extraordinarily low amid overstocked global supply lines and record-high domestic demand.

By contrast, intelligence shows that the largest domestic gangs clear a profit of roughly €10,000 per kilo of cocaine after factoring in a much higher cost base. Cocaine requires a labour-intensive, costly process of bulking up with mixing agents and repackaging. Cannabis herb requires no such processing, meaning the vast majority of the difference between the wholesale price and street value is pure profit.

Surging Postal Smuggling Volumes From North America and Asia

Massive quantities of cannabis continue to flow into the Republic via freight through ports and airports, alongside a sharp rise in postal shipments. Last year, roughly 60 per cent of all cannabis seized at Irish ports, airports, and parcel-sorting centres originated in the US, Canada, and Thailand.

In 2019, the combined value of cannabis originating from those three countries seized at the point of entry into the Republic stood at €4 million. That figure ballooned to €64 million last year, driving a tenfold increase in the total value of cannabis seized by Revenue’s Customs officers since 2019, reaching nearly €110 million last year.