Women's role in the drugs trade in west Belfast is growing and several substantial dealers in the area are women, according to Sinn Fein. The party made the claims at a press conference yesterday to highlight what it said was the growing problem of drug abuse in the area.
A Lower Falls councillor, Mr Fra McCann, put 250 ecstasy tablets on display which he said had been handed into the party last week. Sinn Fein would not be giving the drugs to the RUC but would instead be leaving them with the Roghanna Project which deals with drug abuse in west Belfast.
Mr McCann said the project workers would destroy the drugs. He claimed the RUC could not be trusted to deal with the issue as, in the past, officers had exerted pressure on young people involved in the drugs trade to gather information on republicans.
His party had become alarmed at the "increasing problem" of drug abuse in the area. "In recent months, the increasingly central involvement of women in the drugs trade has become clear," he said.
"Women's involvement in the drugs trade has moved from the role of couriers to that of substantial dealers. Drug gangs have been cynically targeting single mothers to allow their homes to be used as `drops' for drugs being posted from Dublin and England.
"In many cases, children as young as 12 are being targeted by dealers to sell their drugs. Many do so after falling into debt and to feed their own addiction. "Everybody, including parents, teachers and ourselves as community leaders must begin to work together to ensure that we create a safe environment for our young people to live in."