The fall in the dollar's value has increased the volume of cocaine from South America arriving in Europe, where it is redistributed by the major drug barons. They use budget airlines to reach new markets with a cheap product - and Ireland has had the misfortune to be chosen as a suitable destination, with criminal gangs north and south well placed to find gullible young customers.

Here, the PSNI and Revenue and Customs have combined to try to stem the flow of cocaine into the country, mostly from Amsterdam, and are having some success. Four men, including three Dutchmen, have been arrested at Belfast International Airport in the last three months, allegedly carrying drugs worth a total of over £100,000, but it is feared that many more shipments are getting through.

Cocaine has long been a drug of choice for the rich and famous - who can afford the rehabilitation they inevitably need - but it is now within the reach of many more young people. They may be tempted by cut-price offers, to get them hooked, and then they have no way of telling what they are buying. According to the police, a product that arrives 50-60% pure can be "bulked out" , to make higher profits, until its purity is no more than 2%.

With this kind of profit margin, dealers can extend their business far beyond the usual urban outlets - to many parts of rural Ulster. Young people, who read about the habits of envied celebrities, now have a chance to emulate them, without being aware of the danger to their physical and mental health.

The war on cocaine, before it tightens its grip, must be fought on many different levels. The US drug agency keeps up a constant battle, in South America, and suspected import routes, to Europe, are closely monitored. The best intelligence sources, of course, come from insiders, as drug shipments pass through many hands.

In Northern Ireland, the most effective defence against drugs is education about their effects, among young people and their parents. While experimentation with alcohol may be part of growing up, experimenting with drugs is a far more damaging and deadly pursuit. Here is one area of crime that the PSNI cannot play down, because of lack of manpower. Whatever it takes to get dealers out of the pubs and clubs, and into the courts, the responsible adult population will back them.