Available to order via app Snow in Ireland - the Emerald Isle is in a cocaine frenzy
In Ireland, the number of cases of treatment for cocaine addiction has risen enormously. (symbolic image)
Image: dpa
You can even buy cocaine kits in the center of the Irish capital. (symbolic image)
Image: dpa
A cargo ship seized in 2023 at Marino Point in Cork, Ireland. (archive image)
Image: dpa
In Ireland, the number of cases of treatment for cocaine addiction has risen enormously. (symbolic image)
Image: dpa
You can even buy cocaine kits in the center of the Irish capital. (symbolic image)
Image: dpa
A cargo ship seized in 2023 at Marino Point in Cork, Ireland. (archive image)
Image: dpa
Cocaine is everywhere in Ireland: trafficking and the number of addicts undergoing treatment are both on the rise and the drug has reached all social classes. It is ordered by app like fast food.
28.03.2026, 23:02
dpa
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- Cocaine has rapidly become the main drug in Ireland.
- The trade is professionalized and ubiquitous - drugs are ordered digitally, and accessories are sometimes sold openly.
- The causes also lie in social and economic factors such as problems in the fishing industry, which make people more vulnerable to drug smuggling.
"There seems to be coke on every corner, it's scary," says Australian tourist Nicole Davis as she strolls through the trendy Temple Bar district in Dublin with her husband. It's nice to visit the Irish capital again after years, says Ethan Davis. But a lot has changed - and this impression is not limited to partygoers or addicts lying in doorways.
From 2017 to 2024, cocaine has become the main drug of choice for Irish people - the number of people in treatment rose by 252.6 percent, according to the report "Drug Treatment Demand in Ireland".
The consumption of powder cocaine has risen by 216 percent and the use of the smokable variant crack cocaine by an extreme 668.2 percent. Because the drug is literally flooding the island, cocaine is becoming cheaper and cheaper in Ireland.
Cocaine kits in shop windows
Cocaine and crack have long been present in all social classes and age groups, and the drugs are consumed just as much in villages as in cities. Buying them is as easy as ordering a pizza: "Anyone who thinks it's still about finding a shady guy with a few dodgy bags has missed the marketing revolution," said journalist Kathy Sheridan from the Irish Times. "'Menus' to be ordered via Snapchat, Signal or WhatsApp are as professionally designed and colorfully illustrated as supermarket ads, with discounts for packages and combinations."
Here and there in the center of Dublin, you can even see cocaine sets, also known as snuff sets, for 18 euros. They are displayed in shop windows - a small bag with a mirror, razor blade, snuff tube, vial and metal spoon.
In mid-March, the Irish Gardaí police raided a drug trafficking network and seized cocaine worth 5.25 million euros. A relatively small find, as in September 2023, investigators on the south-east coast of Ireland netted the largest quantity of cocaine to date on a ship registered in Panama: On board were 2253 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated 157 million euros (around 145 million Swiss francs). Eight men were subsequently sentenced to between 13.5 and 20 years in prison. Raids like this are not uncommon on the Emerald Isle.
Wastewater analyses bring light into the darkness
According to a United Nations report, Ireland already ranked fourth in the world for cocaine use in 2019, sharing the spot with the USA and Austria. Only Australia, the Netherlands and Spain recorded higher figures.
In Dublin, cocaine is by far the most commonly detected drug in wastewater, with the highest levels on Fridays and Mondays, said Lorraine Nolan, herself Irish and Executive Director of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) since 2025. The levels are currently around ten times higher than for ketamine, even though there has been an 18 percent decrease compared to the previous year.
Increased demand for help
The Irish Health Research Bureau (HRB) reported a record number of 13,295 cases treated for problem cocaine use in 2024. The Irish Department of Health told the German Press Agency that this was also due to better communication on increased support services. Investments as part of a national drug strategy have improved access. "Since the campaign began in 2017, the number of cases has risen by 50 percent," said a spokesperson. 170 million euros were provided by the Ministry of Health and the 2025 Health Authority for drug-related services.
"In 2022 and 2023, the Department of Health has regularly invested €1.35 million in drug support services for people with problematic cocaine use, including projects specifically targeting women who use cocaine and crack cocaine," the spokesperson said. Although the majority of Irish cocaine users are men (84 percent), according to a 2023 survey, the number of women seeking treatment for cocaine use increased by 426.1 percent between 2017 and 2024.
What fishing has to do with the problem
The cocaine crisis on the Emerald Isle is not only home-grown, but also dependent on EU fishing regulations. For years, these have made it difficult for many people on the Irish coast to earn a living from the nets on their boats. As Sjoerd Top, Managing Director of the EU Drug Trafficking Analysis Center to Europe (MAOC-N), explained, Irish fishermen are more easily persuaded to smuggle large quantities of drugs than in the past due to dwindling stocks and in order to cope with their debts.
Fishermen are currently "going through a tough time", Top told the news portal "The Journal": "Because there has been too much fishing, they are not making any money. If they've invested a lot in their boats and can't earn the money to pay off their loans by fishing, they'll probably find another solution." And that could mean turning to crime.
In addition, the geographical conditions on the rugged coastline with its many small bays, which cannot be monitored around the clock, make it particularly easy for smugglers.
According to police, corrupt crew members on legal cargo ships are said to receive up to 200,000 euros for dropping off cocaine shipments off the Irish coast, Chief Inspector Seamus Boland told "The Journal". He is leading the investigation into organized crime. This figure illustrates the huge sums of money involved in the lucrative drug smuggling market - even for people at the very bottom of the hierarchy.
