A new report has indicated that some Irish criminal gangs have become international entities and are getting their drug consignments directly from sources in Colombia and Pakistan.
The OCTA report, conducted by Europol, is an assessment of current and expected trends in Organised Crime affecting the EU and its citizens.
It says that Irish gangs have established themselves in countries like Spain and Holland on both a part time and full time basis.
Garda intelligence has already established that as many as nine Irish gangs are operating in continental Europe.
While much of the heroin trafficked through Europe is controlled by Turkish gangs, the report says that a significant amount of heroin for the Irish and UK markets is sourced directly from Pakistan.
The report also assesses international criminal gangs that are active in Ireland.
It claims that west African and Nigerian gangs are expanding their activities in Ireland to Europe and now have a role in the final distribution of cocaine and cannabis in Ireland.
The gangs are also exclusively responsible for the trafficking of Nigerian victims for sexual exploitation.
Lithuanian criminal gangs in Ireland are thought to be active in trafficking women for sexual exploitation, distributing illegal cigarettes, counterfeit goods and also introducing methamphetamine to the Irish market.
The Garda National Drugs Unit has made a number of seizures of the drug here and it is recognised internationally as highly dangerous.
