Rivers of Coke
Northern Ireland Awash With Cocaine.
Cocaine use in Northern Ireland has got so bad that most rivers and lakes in the Province are awash with it.
Research by Imperial College London and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) found the Class A drug in 91 per cent of the 140 samples they took from rivers and lakes across the region.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland reported 1,353 seizures of cocaine between September 2024 and 2025. It is the most commonly used illegal drug in the nation, according to Northern Ireland’s Substance Misuse Database 2023-24.
Lead author of the research, Dr Billy Hunter, said that he was surprised to find cocaine detected “broadly everywhere”, and not just in high population areas like the Belfast conurbation.
He said that the findings showed that illegal drugs are not “solely an urban problem; they are present right across Northern Ireland”.
Dr Hunter added: “One of the interesting things is actually the fact that it [cocaine] was showing up quite strongly in places like Lough Erne, which is maybe because it’s a recreation hotspot.”
Tom McGrath, whose 22-year-old son Matthew was found dead in County Armagh in 2024, highlighted the harms of cocaine earlier this year when he spoke to BBC Radio Ulster calling for a clampdown on drug dealers.
The penalty for possessing the Class A drug is up to seven years in prison, while supply may result in a life sentence.
But the father explained: “How many times do you see them going before the courts and getting custodial sentences? The dealers and suppliers aren’t being prosecuted properly.”
Roots of the Problem
The widespread police policy of turning a blind eye, as well as the wrist-slapping courts, are a big part of the problem. But there’s more to it than that. As with skunk, spice and so on, the root of this disaster is a grotesque combination of hedonism and near-suicidal anomie.
The irresponsibility which characterises End-Stage Liberalism has infected not just the authorities, but also a huge swathe of the population. This epidemic should be dealt with from above, with the ruthless extermination of every last criminal involved in the drugs trade. But it will not be, because drug use on this scale is a major method of social control.
So, as with various other problems, with the failure of the state, it becomes an issue for individuals, families and communities.
It also becomes a matter of self-selection. Those who reject the slow-suicide of drug use will be around for longer, and have more children, than those who succumb. Religious faith, ideological commitment and good old-fashioned common sense all have their roles to play.
So, at some stage in the future, there will be healthy and organised communities, where fathers and older brothers do for their families and neighbours what the liberal state refuses to do. Unfortunately, that is still quite a long way off at present, but it will come to pass.