Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of cross-border drug trafficking between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; and what steps she is taking to disrupt such activity.

The National Crime Agency’s latest National Strategic Assessment notes the Common Travel Area, and particularly the routes between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Great Britain, continue to be exploited by criminals for the purposes of serious and organised crime including the smuggling of illicit commodities. It is highly likely that organised crime groups are taking advantage of additional ferry routes between mainland Europe and Ireland in order to avoid detection at the UK border.

Since the beginning of 2023, there has been a notable increase in seizures of cocaine in excess of 100kg at Irish ports from ferry routes originating from within the European Union.

UK law enforcement organisations, including the Police Service Northern Ireland, NCA and Border Force work with An Garda Síochána, to target those who might attempt to smuggle illicit drugs between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, including via the sea.