DRUG related crime in Donegal continued to soar in 2020 with the latest figures painting a grim picture.
Figures released this week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that drug offences rose significantly in 2020.
Although, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic changing the landscape of the world, most crimes showed a drop, drug-related incidents rose again.
In the Donegal Division, there were 545 offences in 2020, up from 460 in 2019 – a jump of 18 per cent.
In 2016, there were 248 controlled drug offences in the Donegal Division, meaning there has been a 120 per cent rise in the last five years.
In 2020, there were 93 offences for possession of drugs for the purpose of sale or supply (a rise of 18 per cent) and there were 434 offences for possession for personal use, up from 369 in 2019.
There were also seven incidents of drugs cultivation dealt with by Gardaí in Donegal during 2020.
Already this year, there have been significant drugs finds in the county. Last month, a €2.8million stash of cocaine was located by Gardaí from the Milford District Drugs Unit and in January €105,000 of cocaine was found during a search of a car at a checkpoint in Lifford.
Drug-driving offences rocketed in 2020, showing almost a 200 per cent rise, with 197 in 2020 compared to 67 in 2019. Only four years ago, in 2017, there were five incidents of drug-driving in the Donegal Division.
The last year saw 68 murder threats recorded in Donegal in 2020, while there were 87 incidents of harassment or related crime, up from 67.
Weapons and explosives offences also showed a rise, with 70 recorded incidents in 2020, compared to 39 in 2019.
Although nightlife was practically still non-existent for much of 2020, there were still 812 public order offences during the year.
There were 141 burglaries in 2020, down from 259 in 2019, with nine aggravated burglaries last year, compared to 15 in 2019.
Assault causing harm incidents were down from 227 in 2019 to 139 last year while assaults showed a drop to 357 from 477 the previous year.
The last year saw 530 offences relating to theft in Donegal and 498 incidents of criminal damage.
Gardaí dealt with eight offences of discharging a firearm in 2020, with just one such incident in 2019.
Sexual offences were down, but there were 109 recorded in Donegal in 2020, compared to 124 in 2019.
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