Recession forces cocaine gangs to move into the booming illegal cigarette market - The Irish Times - Mon, Feb 22, 2010

Recession forces cocaine gangs to move into the booming illegal cigarette market - The Irish Times - Mon, Feb 22, 2010:

Some gangland figures hit by the recession, mainly due to the falling demand for cocaine from recreational users, have begun to smuggle cigarettes, though the diversification is still in its infancy.

The same small number of gangs has also become involved in growing cannabis plants in industrial-sized growing facilities, a number of which have been found by garda�in recent months in Meath, Donegal and Wicklow.

“They’re looking to get into anything to make a few extra quid now that the cocaine market has fallen very flat,” said one Garda source.