A “remarkable” increase in drug seizures has created a backlog of 6,000 samples at Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) and gardaí are concerned that this could soon begin to derail drugs prosecutions. Some €36.5 million of drugs was seized by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau last year, with a further €28 million discovered in the first four months of this year. Gardaí said a significant amount of time and energy was now required to secure forensic certification in drug cases. LapseGarda sources said if the delays in securing documents for drug cases worsened even marginally, many suspects could avoid prosecution because their cases would lapse. The increase is partly due to the fact that services previously provided by Garda technical experts were taken over by FSI last year.

Source: The Irish Times May 31, 2021 04:52 UTC