Senior loyalist and republican figures are working together to smuggle illegal drugs into Northern Ireland, a senior police officer has claimed.
In an in-depth interview in the Irish News today, the head of the PSNI drugs squad also claimed that paramilitary bosses are turning "a blind eye" to their members' activity.
So far this year police have recovered more than £13 million-worth of illegal drugs.
The comments are thought to be the first time a senior officer has confirmed loyalist and republican drug traffickers are working in partnership.
Detective Superintendent George McCauley refused to be drawn on whether the republican involvement in drug dealing was from mainstream or dissident groupings.
"There is no doubt paramilitaries are engaged in illegal drug activities to quite a degree," he said. "And to a varying degree there is cooperation across paramilitary groups – at senior levels between members of loyalist groups cooperating with republicans. They are collectively making large amounts of money."
Det Supt McAuley said paramilitary groups control a sizeable chunk of the importation of illegal drugs.
"Paramiltaries are highly involved in the supply side.
"You don't see mainstream dealers bringing drugs in," DS McCauley said.
The drugs squad chief also said that while he believed the problem was being "contained", snaring the main drug barons remained the biggest challenge.
"Police are being more successful than ever before and are making genuine inroads against mainstream dealers, recovering a greater percentage than ever before," he said.
"But it is fair to say we are seeing big amounts seized because different dealers are making collaborative efforts to bring them in.
"There are no particular boundaries when it comes to drugs – drugs are sold to whoever is prepared to produce the money."
DS McCauley said there is a high incidence of reoffending among those convicted of drugs offences.
"My experience is that there are very few people engaged in drug dealing who don't resume drug dealing opportunities once they have completed a term in jail. The attractions are too great," he said.
"My aim is to bring principal dealers before the courts – Mr Big, the organiser, not just the courier or lorry driver. That is difficult because he never handles the drugs.
"The other way to tackle them is to make it less attractive for him, to take his drugs off him in which case he loses his investment and we arrest those who are working for him."
