Cocaine on all Irish notes
 One hundred
per cent of banknotes in the Republic of Ireland carry traces of cocaine,
according to a new study.
Researchers used the latest forensic techniques that would detect even
the tiniest fragments to study a batch of 45 used banknotes.
The scientists at Dublin’s City University said they were “surprised
by their findings”.
Some of the notes had such high levels of cocaine on them that it is thought
they were used to snort the drug.
Others had much lower traces and may have been cross-contaminated, perhaps
in the wallets or pockets of users.
The results tie in with scientific findings from other countries such
as Britain and Spain where cocaine has also been found on a high proportion
of notes.
Cocaine particles stick to the cotton that is contained within the notes.
Professor Brett Paul, whose paper was published in a journal of the Royal
Society of Chemistry in Britain, said it demonstrated how widespread the
use of cocaine is.
The study also found that higher value banknotes such as 20 and 50 euros
were more likely to contain greater traces of the drug.
In recent weeks there has been fresh focus in Ireland on the use of drugs
in society.
Dublin has seen a number of murders that have been linked to drugs gangs
and Ireland’s Justice Minister Frank Fahey has said that those who
buy cocaine are helping to finance such groups.
|
