O'Dowd calls for a multi-agency approach to dealing with illegal drugs trade after meeting with PSNI in Lurgan, Co Armagh

Sinn Féin said it has met senior police officers ‘about tackling the illegal drugs trade and holding the peddlers of misery to account through the courts’.

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Speaking after the meeting, Mr O’Dowd said: "I welcome the opportunity to again meet with senior PSNI officers to get an update on their work in tackling the dealers of illegal drugs in our society.

"There have been recent successes against the drug gangs with seizures of drugs, money and weapons,” said Mr O’Dowd adding that there had been some convictions in the courts.

"I sought assurance from the police that this pressure on the peddlers of misery would be maintained and they gave those assurances.

"However policing alone will not end the scourge of illegal drugs and its impact on families and communities. There needs to be a multi-agency approach and, in recent weeks, we have seen the first steps towards agencies such as Education, Health and Justice working together. The community is also more united than ever in its determination to face down these gangs.

"I am however concerned that the continued cuts to public spending will mean less support for front line public services and leave communities vulnerable to abuse from drug dealers.

"It is therefore more important than ever that resources, limited as they are, are directed to communities most in need to build on the good work to date and we continue to isolate the peddlers of misery.”