The State agency tasked with identifying illicit drugs has sounded a warning over “the rising threat” of synthetic opioids drugs here after identifying 10 new drug substances or unusual presentations of drugs last year.
In the 2024 annual report for Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), acting director general Dr Geraldine O’Donnell pointed out that Section 15A drug dealing cases - which concern large drug consignment seizures - have increased sevenfold from 45 in 2020 to 318 in 2024.
Dr O’Donnell said that between 2022 and 2023, FSI identified several nitazene (synthetic opioids) variants in small seizures of tablets and powders.
Dr O’Donnell added: “However, 2024 marked a significant shift, with two of the largest nitazene seizures recorded not only in Ireland but across Europe.
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Some of the new drug substances identified by the FSI last year included protonitazene, which is a synthetic opioid “significantly more potent than heroin”.
The report states that in early 2024, FSI received an urgent out-of-hours request from An Garda Síochána to analyse several packages of brown powder that was identified as 1.9kg of protonitazene, mixed with caffeine and paracetamol.
The report says “this dangerous substance was intended for distribution in the heroin market but was fortunately intercepted by An Garda Siochána”.
FSI staff also detected for the first time an unusual presentation referred to a “Tuci”, which comprises 125 grams of a pink powder containing ketamine, amphetamine, MDMA and caffeine.
The report explains that nitazenes were developed as analgesics in the 1950s, but these highly potent synthetic opioids “were never marketed due to overdose risk”.
Cannabis or edibles made up of 44 per cent of all drugs analysed in 2024, with powder accounting for 38 per cent of cases.
The number of overall cases submitted to FSI by the Garda and other State agencies last year was 25,170, which included 10,595 drug and toxicology cases.
The report states that FSI has reported on 41 suspicious death investigations in 2024 - a 17 per cent increase on the 2023 figure of 35.
Last year, FSI staff provided expert independent testimony on 110 occasions before the courts.
The report states that DNA evidence from FSI “was used extensively in Garda investigations and court cases in many murders, serious assaults, sexual assaults, drug seizures and other offences associated with gangland and organised crime throughout 2024”.
In addition, FSI assisted in the identification of 32 missing persons in 2024 through DNA.
The report says 997 cases were aided during 2024 by some 766 hits on the national DNA data base
