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<\/p>\nGardai are dealing with a massive explosion in the amount of a highly addictive drug being smuggled here from Africa, it has emerged.<\/p>\n
Figures released by gardai show that the value of khat seized by the force in 2025 is almost as much as officers impounded in the previous decade put together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is becoming a bigger issue, there is no doubt about that,\u201d a source said of Khat, which is mostly grown and consumed in eastern Africa.<\/p>\n
Khat is hugely popular in west Africa, including Somalia and Kenya. The plant’s leaves are cut and chewed and are a stimulant. It produces mild euphoria and makes its users more confident and talkative. Its side effects include heightened energy, alertness, elevated heart rate, and euphoria.<\/p>\n
But it is highly addictive and can cause insomnia and anxiety – and can even induce psychosis. But it can also cause high blood pressure and lead to heart attacks and strokes.<\/p>\n
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Gardai also seized \u20ac35 million of cannabis.<\/p>\n
Gardai revealed that in 2025 officers seized some 26kgs of the drug as it was being smuggled into Ireland from countries in east Africa where it is mostly cultivated – Kenya, Yemen and Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
The value of the seizures comes in at just over \u20ac1.3 million – something that dwarfs the 2024 figure of just \u20ac237,000. The \u20ac1.3 million figure is also about \u20ac150,000 of the total value of amount of the drugs seized in the previous decade, from 2015 to 2024 when some \u20ac1.45 million worth of khat was impounded by gardai.<\/p>\n
Sources tell us the increase in the amount of khat being seized is because more of the drug is being smuggled into Ireland – and the market for it is growing. \u201cSeizures mirror demand,\u201d one source said.<\/p>\n
It is generally accepted that most drugs shipments destined for Ireland get though the net and only around 25 to 40 per cent is actually seized. That means, conservatively, the market for khat in Ireland is worth around \u20ac5 million a year.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s seizure outstrips any seizures of the drug in the last decade.<\/p>\n
In 2015, the value of khats seized by gardai was \u20ac236,04, but in 2017 in shrank to \u20ac50,000. In 2020, khat worth only \u20ac19,000 was seized by gardai – but that jumped to \u20ac248,000 in 2021. The figure for 2022 was \u20ac110,000 and for 2023 it fell to \u20ac38,000.<\/p>\n
![\"Cocaine](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1_Cocaine-041125.jpg\")
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Cocaine seized by Gardai in Dublin last year – some of the \u20ac68 million of the drug impounded by officers in 2025.(Image: An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na)<\/p>\n
But it has increased in the last two years – with \u20ac237,778 seized in 2024 and the hail for 2025 coming in at \u20ac1.303 million.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for drug treatment facility Merchants Quay Ireland, MQI, said it does not record khat, known as cathinones, as a distinct category.<\/p>\n
But she added: \u201cHowever, MQI does continue to see complex patterns of polydrug use among people accessing its services. The emergence of new and evolving substances highlights the importance of harm reduction measures, including access to health information, treatment, recovery supports and services that help reduce the risks associated with drug use.\u201d<\/p>\n
The details of Khat seizures for last year were contained the in Garda annual report for 2025. It showed that gardai seized illegal drugs with over \u20ac113 million last year – down on the 2024 haul of more than \u20ac268 million.<\/p>\n
The report shows that cocaine accounted for over 60 per cent of all seizures in 2025 – or around \u20ac68 million. And some 30 per cent of all drugs seized was cannabis, or \u20ac35.8 million. And heroin accounted for \u20ac2.58 million – or just over two per cent of the total.<\/p>\n