Cork gangs targeting people with intellectual disabilities to be drug mules, Sinn Féin representative warns

PEOPLE with intellectual disabilities are being targeted by Cork crime gangs to work as mules in drug dealing operations, Sinn Féin representatives have warned.

Former lord mayor and community worker Chris O’Leary, who is running as a local election candidate for Sinn Féin in the Cork City South East area, said that both children and people with intellectual disabilities can be dragged into these organisations.

“The most vulnerable people are targeted,” he told The Echo.

He outlined two main reasons, the first being that “they’re minors or vulnerable, so they are being targeted because of that. [They’re] told that if you’re caught nothing will happen to you, which actually isn’t the case”.

The second reason for targeting these people is that they expect much less payment, he said.

“They would be won over by simple things — they could be drawn in on games for a console, credit for a game, and it can progress up to items like electric scooters,” he said.

'Widespread'

Calling the issue “widespread,” Mr O’Leary said he was aware of children as young as nine or ten doing “drops” for criminal gangs, as well as people in their teens, but with the mental capacity of a ten-year-old due to an intellectual disability.

“I’ve heard of mums locking their sons into a bedroom to prevent them going out and meeting these individuals — they feel like they’re losing their sons,” he said, adding that the gangs “turn [the young or vulnerable people] against their own parents and make them feel they can’t trust their mother or father”.

SF plan to tackle crime

His comments come as Cork Sinn Féin TDs Thomas Gould and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire discussed a €45m plan to tackle organised crime, as part of a series of proposals in the party’s policing plan for Cork, which they launched at City Hall yesterday.

This included providing improved resourcing to support the work of community gardaí in specific areas across Cork, reviewing and extending the return of the proceeds of crime to benefit communities, and ensuring that those who exploit or coerce a child into criminality face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

Early intervention is key to their plan, with Mr Gould saying he has seen several young people “coming up through the ranks” and ending up in prison for very serious things.

Mr Ó Laoghaire added: “Prevention is better than the cure — early intervention is an investment well worth making if we can steer people away from being at risk of committing criminal offences.”

He said that their Coercion of a Minor Bill “introduces new offences and new penalties for those involved in grooming children to enter criminality, which is a trend we have seen increasing in Cork”.

Mr Gould added: “We have a bill to make it a serious criminal offence if organised crime gangs are using young people. I know cases in Cork where they use people who have learning disabilities, and target them to do the mule work and carrying work.”

An Garda Síochána was asked for comment, but said it does not comment on remarks made by third parties. “Anyone who is concerned about a crime should contact their local Garda station,” the spokesperson added.