0:00:03 > 0:00:07'A suburban street in Bangor, and while families around me
0:00:07 > 0:00:11'are returning home from work and school, I'm waiting to buy drugs,
0:00:11 > 0:00:17'powerful pills that should only be prescribed by a doctor.'
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Show me, what have you got?
0:00:18 > 0:00:20And you are giving me this stuff.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22This is the same stuff as the last time, isn't it?
0:00:22 > 0:00:24And this is the prescription drugs?
0:00:24 > 0:00:28And this is the stuff that definitely is diazepam?
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Now is a good time to tell you, I'm Jennifer O'Leary,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33a reporter for BBC Spotlight.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01# Body to body
0:01:01 > 0:01:03# Funky to funky
0:01:03 > 0:01:04# We know how to... #
0:01:06 > 0:01:09David Lyle is the man behind Northern Ireland's
0:01:09 > 0:01:11hard-hitting road-safety ads.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17His campaigns are credited with saving young people's lives.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21But it was a different danger on Northern Ireland's streets
0:01:21 > 0:01:25that cost the life of his only son, Matthew.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27A musician and a recovering heroin addict,
0:01:27 > 0:01:33he died in 2005 aged 28 after taking a combination of painkillers
0:01:33 > 0:01:35and diazepam bought illegally.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37People are playing a dangerous game
0:01:37 > 0:01:41when they use these prescription drugs.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43I liken it to playing Russian roulette.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48It's almost like you take a revolver, put in a combination of pills
0:01:48 > 0:01:51and you put the revolver to your head,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55you click the trigger and hope that you're going to survive.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00But quite often that combination of drugs is going to kill you.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03These drugs effectively sedated him to death.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07When we found him, we found him in his bedroom
0:02:07 > 0:02:11at the top of the house with his head slumped on the floor.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15You know? He was just literally slumped over.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17His head was down on the floor.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23So, it just proved fatal. And tragic.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Can you describe the shock?
0:02:31 > 0:02:37Even now, the shock is...intolerable.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40And this many years later...
0:02:41 > 0:02:43..it never leaves you.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Thousands of people in Northern Ireland
0:02:50 > 0:02:52have taken these pills tonight.
0:02:52 > 0:02:53They are diazepam,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57a type of benzodiazepine commonly known as benzos.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00They are useful for treating acute anxiety
0:03:00 > 0:03:02and are widely prescribed for that purpose.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05But they have another side.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10More people die in Northern Ireland with benzodiazepines
0:03:10 > 0:03:14in their bloodstream than all of the so-called hard drugs combined.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17More than a third of drug-related deaths,
0:03:17 > 0:03:22that's accidental overdoses and suicides, feature diazepam.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The numbers are increasing.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Diazepam effectively is a depressant of the brain.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33If it's combined with other depressants like alcohol
0:03:33 > 0:03:35or like some other drugs,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37you simply depress the brain function
0:03:37 > 0:03:40so much that the person stops breathing.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44They lapse into a coma, they stop breathing and they die.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49I don't think people appreciate how significant these risks are.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53I suppose because diazepam itself
0:03:53 > 0:03:56has been marketed as a very safe drug,
0:03:56 > 0:03:57and it is when taken on its own.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00It's when it's taken in combination with other substances
0:04:00 > 0:04:02that there is real danger.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04I don't envisage that the deaths that we are seeing
0:04:04 > 0:04:06are going to suddenly stop.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Last September, customs and health authorities
0:04:10 > 0:04:15in 81 countries spent a week targeting postal routes
0:04:15 > 0:04:17to intercept internet drug parcels.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Some internet sales are entirely legitimate,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22but in that one week UK agencies
0:04:22 > 0:04:27found 150 packages of illicit pills including diazepam
0:04:27 > 0:04:30destined for Northern Ireland.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34I think there is an increasing awareness of a growing trade
0:04:34 > 0:04:39in the illicit use of prescription drugs.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I am certainly concerned by what is evidence
0:04:42 > 0:04:45of an increasing market in both drugs,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49unlicensed drugs which people are purchasing over the internet,
0:04:49 > 0:04:55hence unregulated with no assurance around their safety or efficacy,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and also the availability of counterfeit drugs
0:04:58 > 0:05:01which we just don't know what they contain.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07I am investigating how sales on the internet are influencing
0:05:07 > 0:05:09the diazepam market here.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14It's not just used to import the drug from abroad,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17local dealers are using the web and that makes the drug
0:05:17 > 0:05:20even more available on the streets today
0:05:20 > 0:05:22than at the time Matthew Lyle died.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25In my own experience with Matthew,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28no young person is safe from dealers.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31From pushing, from seeking to interrupt people's lives
0:05:31 > 0:05:35and draw them into the pattern.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39I've set out to track down today's prescription dealers.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42I found a web forum that is essentially a notice board
0:05:42 > 0:05:44for a range of illegal drugs
0:05:44 > 0:05:47offered for sale right here in Northern Ireland,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51including diazepam, also known as blues or yellows
0:05:51 > 0:05:54according to the colour of the pill indicating different strengths.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Buying requires very little effort on my part.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I make contact with a dealer called Mick 2012
0:06:05 > 0:06:07who has diazepam for sale.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12Then it's just a matter of waiting for a phone call.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14I clearly couldn't meet the dealer at work.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18I'm going undercover so I think I'll play up my accent
0:06:18 > 0:06:20and for his part,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24well, the dealer has promised to deliver drugs to my door.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27'Mick 2012 arrives as planned.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31'We've obscured his identity as we believe he's underage.'
0:07:07 > 0:07:10And that's all it took. Illegal drugs brought to my door
0:07:10 > 0:07:13after a little time on the internet.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21They certainly talk a good talk online, but it's not just talk
0:07:21 > 0:07:24because here I am, 100 benzos later.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28I chose from the menu, all I needed was a phone
0:07:28 > 0:07:30and an address for a drop-off,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32the same thing if you were to order a pizza,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36but in this case, of course, I was ordering pills.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Our weakness for diazepam goes back decades.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Benzos under the brand name Valium first came to Northern Ireland
0:07:47 > 0:07:48in the late 1960s.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It soon became the perfect pill for treating shattered nerves.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Prescription pads were used as widely as the bombs and bullets.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06The contents of a pill bottle served as
0:08:06 > 0:08:09a form of chemical therapy for the Troubles.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16The world kept turning, but Northern Ireland's attachment
0:08:16 > 0:08:19to what's now called diazepam remains unchanged.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26We have a consistently high number of benzo prescriptions here,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29more than double the rest of the UK and the Republic,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32with parts of Belfast at four times the rate.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38It's most heavily used as a prescription drug in deprived areas.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Gabriel Cush's day revolves around diazepam.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Current medical guidelines say patients should take diazepam
0:08:50 > 0:08:53no longer than four to six weeks.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Gabriel has been taking it daily for 30 years.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58'Prescribed the drug
0:08:58 > 0:09:02'back when it was considered safe for long-term use,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04'he is now too dependent to be taken off it.'
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Five or ten minutes, then they kick in.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- What happens?- It relaxes you.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Earlier on I started to get a bit of jitteriness.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17I need them. Every day.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23It's terrible to have a life like that, your life's ruined.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28'According to some studies, Gabriel's long-term use
0:09:28 > 0:09:32'puts him at greater risk of cancer and dementia.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36'Even though his diazepam dosage has been reduced in recent years,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38'he says he can't quit.'
0:09:38 > 0:09:41When you wake up in the morning, what's your first thought?
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Straight to the tablets.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45First thing a cup of coffee,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49and tablets into me, and a smoke.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- And the last thing at night? - Diazepam again.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58To help me to get through the night.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02I feel sorry I had started them
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and I wish I had've knew more about them, what I know now.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12But I can't do nothing about it, because I'm hooked on them now.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17Gabriel sticks to his dosage prescribed by his GP,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21but others choose to top up with black-market pills.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24I have conversations often about people
0:10:24 > 0:10:30being able to readily purchase blues and yellows on any street corner.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33On any day of the week.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35You're telling me if I came in here
0:10:35 > 0:10:37and asked you for a script for diazepam
0:10:37 > 0:10:41and you said no, I could head down to the corner and get some?
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Well, I wouldn't suggest that, but certainly that's available.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50I have been put in the position where people say,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53"If you don't give them to me, I'll buy them.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54"And I would rather get them from you
0:10:54 > 0:10:56"because I don't know what is in the bag
0:10:56 > 0:10:59"that I'm going to get from down the corner."
0:10:59 > 0:11:02But that's very much, well, that's your choice.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07I'm quickly learning there is no shortage
0:11:07 > 0:11:09of black-market benzos in Belfast.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14I handed over cash for 100 pills in that first transaction
0:11:14 > 0:11:19and now I have got another offer from another dealer, Liam.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Home delivery is also his calling card.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28As PSNI officers marshal crowds who have come to see
0:11:28 > 0:11:31the Olympic flame arriving in Belfast,
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Liam turns up with my pills.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47'In fact, while we're making the exchange PSNI officers pass by.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50'The possibility of being arrested for dealing drugs
0:11:50 > 0:11:52'is not what Liam is concerned about,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55'he's more worried about getting a parking ticket.'
0:12:25 > 0:12:29That's two deliveries in as many days.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31So, this is my second home delivery.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35The packaging isn't as professional, if you like, as the first one.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37But the principle is the same.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41100 benzos delivered right to my door.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46These pills aren't like others sold in the UK.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Many black-market prescription drugs come from overseas.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Both batches I've bought appear to have been made in Sri Lanka.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57There are a number of medications
0:12:57 > 0:13:01which are coming in from a variety of sources.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Through the internet.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Many of these are produced on the subcontinent.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Unfortunately once you start manufacturing
0:13:10 > 0:13:14without the standards that are required by law,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17then different fillers are used,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20different tableting processes.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24All sorts of binders, all sorts of things added in,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27and that is the difference. You have no idea what you're getting,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29because it is not a licensed product.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33I can't be sure what I've bought is the real thing,
0:13:33 > 0:13:38so I'm sending some of my pills to Dublin for professional testing.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42I need to know if they're genuine diazepam and not duds.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49Biochemist Dr Jack Bloomfield is experienced in testing
0:13:49 > 0:13:51and analysing all kinds of drug compounds.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57It doesn't take long for him to identify my pills.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59It's telling us that it is diazepam.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02It is diazepam, and it's 99% sure it's diazepam.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- That's pretty sure. - That's pretty sure.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Our analysis is very clear.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12These little blue tablets, that they don't have a number on them
0:14:12 > 0:14:13to say that they're ten milligrams
0:14:13 > 0:14:16or five milligrams or whatever.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21But I believe that these are ten-milligram diazepams.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26These pills are all properly manufactured medical doses of diazepam.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Well, now I know for sure that what was delivered to my door
0:14:31 > 0:14:32are, in fact, diazepam.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38Just under ten milligrams of the active ingredient in each one of those small, little blue pills.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42But bear in mind that to normally buy diazepam in any circumstances,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45you need to go to your GP where you're given a script,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and you go to a pharmacist where it's dispensed to you.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51I'm getting a class C, what is a controlled drug,
0:14:51 > 0:14:57delivered to my door in as much of the quantity as I can afford to buy.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Last year, 36 people died in Northern Ireland
0:15:03 > 0:15:05from misuse of benzos.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Deaths have been increasing over the last decade,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12and that's a concern for those who are living with the grief.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17It's been seven years since you buried Matthew.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Do you think the problem has got worse?
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I think it's getting worse.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28My question is whether the criminal justice system is in any sense
0:15:28 > 0:15:30alert to the real dangers here.
0:15:30 > 0:15:36In fact, I think the criminal justice system has completely abandoned people
0:15:36 > 0:15:40to the vicious exploitation of these dealers,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43that the criminal justice system is not protecting the young
0:15:43 > 0:15:48and the innocent and the vulnerable from the viciousness of dealers.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54So who is responsible for stopping diazepam from reaching the streets,
0:15:54 > 0:15:59particularly when it's clearly come from outside Northern Ireland?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Finding out proved more challenging than buying benzos.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08I first contacted the Border Force,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11which is responsible for securing the UK's borders.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16They told me that here, the Department Of Health is the lead agency,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20so I did as advised and contacted the Department Of Health,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24who then said the Border Agency are primarily responsible
0:16:24 > 0:16:26for security of UK borders,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30including vigilance against the importation of prohibited substances.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33The Border Agency chose not to be interviewed,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36but accepted they could seize goods.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38There are a number of agencies involved,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42the PSNI, the Department Of Health, the Border Agency,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44but there's always a chain of command.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46WHO is in charge?
0:16:47 > 0:16:50The Border Agency are ultimately in charge
0:16:50 > 0:16:53of what is coming in over the UK border.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57We will take the lead from the UK Border Agency
0:16:57 > 0:17:02in terms of the investigation and prosecution of offences
0:17:02 > 0:17:04that we've identified.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- But they have to pass the case on to you?- Yes.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11I've seen for myself that dealers are selling imported drugs
0:17:11 > 0:17:15unlicensed for here, so where is the weak link?
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Given what they're doing and what we observed,
0:17:18 > 0:17:23on the face of it, it does seem pretty easy to sell and to buy.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28They may feel as if they're immune to the law,
0:17:28 > 0:17:33but I can assure the public that the PSNI are rigorously investigating
0:17:33 > 0:17:37people involved in the importation of controlled drugs,
0:17:37 > 0:17:42and the situation is that importing, selling or supplying
0:17:42 > 0:17:47any form of drugs, class C, diazepam in particular,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I spoke to an addict from Belfast's Shankill Road.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56We agreed to disguise his identity,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00because, he says, he's under threat from loyalist paramilitaries.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03But he's not afraid of police.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Sure, there's nothing they can do.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10I mean, certain things, sometimes they take them off you
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and things like that, but...
0:18:12 > 0:18:14in all honesty, peelers are wasting their time.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19A peeler wouldn't even worry about taking a couple of yellows or blues off you.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Because everybody takes blues. And everybody takes yellows. Everybody.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25- How many do you take? - Two or three in the morning.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29- With a glass of water? - A glass of juice or something, aye.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32A few joints, maybe something to eat.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38Later on in the afternoon, maybe another couple of tablets.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41And after that, just take whatever you're taking for the night.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45- Like what?- Maybe ten. Just sit there all night.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50- In one go or...? - Aye. I'll maybe just split them up.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53I'd take three and then a cup of tea.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57You get a better hit with a joint and a cup of tea. Kick in quicker.
0:18:57 > 0:18:58They hit you, know what I mean?
0:18:58 > 0:19:02When you crunch the tablets, they dissolve quicker inside you,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04so they start affecting you quicker.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08How do you know it's starting to kick in? Describe it for me.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Just feel like you're... HE EXHALES SHARPLY
0:19:10 > 0:19:14When you go to sit forward, it feels like somebody pulling your head back.
0:19:14 > 0:19:15Your shoulders...
0:19:15 > 0:19:19When you go to lift off a seat and stand up, you're like... HE EXHALES CONTENTEDLY
0:19:19 > 0:19:21- To the side. - Do you like that feeling?
0:19:21 > 0:19:25You're mellowed out, know what I mean? You've no worries.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29All the bad things that you worry about just seem to be away.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31You're just sort of blanking everything out.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34That's what you're using it for.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37'But that sensation comes at a cost.'
0:19:37 > 0:19:41What we know is that if someone buys diazepam over the internet,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44what we tend to find is that when they're bought,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46people don't tend to take them in ones and twos.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49They'll take them in tens and twenties.
0:19:49 > 0:19:55And the effects then, psychologically and physically, can be quite profound.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59I mean, we are talking about fairly significant dosages.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03They'll describe then that as time goes on, that they'll continue
0:20:03 > 0:20:06to drink and use drugs,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10that they usually will find
0:20:10 > 0:20:15that there are gaps then in their memory, that they can't remember
0:20:15 > 0:20:18the later part of the evening, earlier part of the morning.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Some people will say to you, "The next thing
0:20:21 > 0:20:25"I remember is finding myself in a cell or in a casualty department."
0:20:25 > 0:20:28And the bit in-between will be extremely vague.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33I definitely believe that normal diazepam prescribed off a doctor
0:20:33 > 0:20:39and the illegal ones, there's a different reaction with them the next day.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42You always seem to wake up in a bad mood. When you get up,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45you're still feeling the effects from the night before.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49You'd think you hadn't been asleep. You're, like, all over the show.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53You're walking all disorientated and, like, dead snappy and dead angry.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59While I've been learning about the effects of diazepam,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I'm still getting messages from internet dealers.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Now, the latest one says he can't deliver,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07so he's asked me to go to him.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11He's offering me pills in a blister pack.
0:21:11 > 0:21:12They're more prized,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16because most users think they're less likely to be fake.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35- What?- Come back here cos I don't, like, I don't know that area,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37you know what I mean?
0:21:37 > 0:21:40'This dealer calls himself Stephen. He clearly knows what he's doing is illegal.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43'Not only is he concerned about being seen,
0:21:43 > 0:21:47'he also thinks he's being careful about leaving evidence.'
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Yeah, well, look...
0:22:45 > 0:22:49'One sale over, Stephen is keen to set me up for other purchases.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53'He'd like my diazepam purchase to be a gateway to other drugs.'
0:23:15 > 0:23:20In just over a week, I managed to pocket 400 pills.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22At the maximum safe medical dose,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25that's enough for more than three months.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27But I could have at least doubled that number,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31because each dealer I bought from was ready to sell me more
0:23:31 > 0:23:33within a matter of days.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38I've established how easy it is to buy benzos.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42What I want to know now is how the pills got to Northern Ireland.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49- How're you doing?- Not bad, you? - Good, good, how are you keeping?
0:23:50 > 0:23:51- Good.- Yeah.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Have you been busy?
0:23:55 > 0:23:56Business is good?
0:23:58 > 0:23:59So show me what you've got.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05Hang on now. I'll just count this out.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09This is the 20, 30, the 40.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13I didn't take the fiver this time, and you're giving me this stuff.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17- This is the same stuff as the last time, isn't it? And this is the prescription drugs?- Yes.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And this is the stuff that definitely is diazepam.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Now is a good time to tell you, I'm Jennifer O'Leary.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27I'm a reporter for BBC Spotlight. I just wanted to find out from you,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29from where are you getting these drugs?
0:24:29 > 0:24:31- You know that this is illegal? - Right...
0:24:31 > 0:24:34This prescription drug...
0:24:34 > 0:24:36See if you don't get the camera out of my face, there'll be...
0:24:36 > 0:24:40There's no licence to sell this in the UK. Can you tell me from where you're getting drugs from?
0:24:40 > 0:24:42I can indeed, yeah.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45You know it's an offence to sell or supply what are class C drugs
0:24:45 > 0:24:48to people, you're aware of that, aren't you?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- HE LAUGHS - You find this funny, selling drugs?
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- You know this is illegal activity? - I do indeed.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Are you worried about the PSNI at any stage?
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Well, it sure is easy to sell prescription drugs
0:25:03 > 0:25:06like this on the streets, but, as we clearly have seen there,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09he doesn't want to answer any hard questions.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15I want to find out what Liam had to say about selling me
0:25:15 > 0:25:18100 black-market pills.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20I arranged to meet him again.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23- I'm Jennifer O'Leary, I'm a reporter for BBC Spotlight.- Oh, great(!)
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- This is what you sold me.- (BLEEP) - Just to confirm that these are illicit drugs
0:25:26 > 0:25:30and you're doing it illegally. You're not going to answer any questions?
0:25:30 > 0:25:33You know it's illegal to sell these?
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Well, again, just to prove that these are illicit drugs,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41we have tested these in the laboratory.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45They are in fact diazepam. It's illegal to sell class C drugs.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49He has sold them to me, but won't answer any questions.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51No surprise there, really.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59'Posing online again, I asked Mick 2012 to phone me.'
0:25:59 > 0:26:03When I revealed my identity, he said his pills came from a GP.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05But we know that's a lie.
0:26:05 > 0:26:11The 400 pills I bought appear to have been legitimately manufactured abroad.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Not even one is licensed for sale in the UK.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18We traced Stephen's blister packs to a reputable factory
0:26:18 > 0:26:20in Benin, in West Africa.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26The manufacturer told us they came from a batch of nearly ten million pills processed four years ago,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30and sold to the governments of Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Licensed only in Africa,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36but somehow ending up for sale on the streets of Northern Ireland.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41'I'm on my way to safely dispose of all the drugs I've bought.'
0:26:45 > 0:26:49No-one knows the true scale of diazepam dependence
0:26:49 > 0:26:50in Northern Ireland.
0:26:50 > 0:26:55Nor does anyone know just how many of these drugs are being imported.
0:27:00 > 0:27:06'The PSNI doesn't even publish figures for the amount of class C drugs it seizes.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09'A conviction for selling diazepam illegally
0:27:09 > 0:27:13'carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15'and a potentially unlimited fine.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20'But on the face of it, the penalties for importing
0:27:20 > 0:27:24'and selling pills don't cause dealers to lose any sleep.'
0:27:25 > 0:27:28A dealer convicted of attempting to sell prescription drugs
0:27:28 > 0:27:33to Matthew Lyle just before he died was already on a suspended sentence
0:27:33 > 0:27:38when he came to court. He was given another suspended sentence.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46The judge said that because the amount of drugs was so small,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50that that had to be mitigation.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54But hold on a second, we now know that even the tiniest amounts
0:27:54 > 0:27:57of drugs, taken in combination, can be fatal.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00So what's the small quantity got to do with anything?
0:28:04 > 0:28:10So the dangers here are dangers for everybody. For all of society.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13There isn't a family that is not potentially vulnerable here.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Gabriel Cush accepts that he will be taking diazepam
0:28:17 > 0:28:19for the rest of his life.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Plagued by long-term diazepam dependence,
0:28:22 > 0:28:27he is looking at a different generation misusing powerful prescription pills.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32For young lads to do that, I think it's sad.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34They don't know what they're messing with.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38And I just wish to God they would go off it,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42and to see the other dangers, there's other dangers in the future.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44They should be looking forward.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Instead of doubling down another tablet...
0:28:48 > 0:28:49for the next fix.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51They may have started life as medicine,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54but these little pills can bring death and misery.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Their overuse in Northern Ireland has long been a tragic legacy
0:28:58 > 0:28:59of history.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03But sold on the internet and pushed on young people,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06they are today a growing threat to the next generation,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09carry-out drugs, death brought to the door.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd