The Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, has said that major international drug trafficking gangs have evolved in Ireland in recent years.
Speaking at the conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors in Kilkenny, he said such gangs had developed their own contacts internationally and were now purchasing drugs at source.
Mr Conroy added that criminal enterprises were now undermining legitimate business through money laundering and other activities.
The association has meanwhile advised sergeants and inspectors not to participate in the scheme which allows gardaí to work north of the border.
It is withdrawing co-operation from the protocol which was only signed last month.
The AGSI says the scheme is not economically viable, and that it fears for the safety of its members.
The conference also heard details of what was described as the appalling garda communication system in Longford and Kerry, where the 'green man system' in three stations has been broken for over three years because parts for it and the garda radio system can no longer be obtained.
The AGSI now wants gardaí to stop using their own mobile phones on duty, and accepts that in places such as Kerry this means stations and members of the public may not be able to contact their gardaí at all.
