18 Gardaí are currently assigned to drug and organised crime units in the Shannonside region.
New details from the Department of Justice show staffing levels in the local drugs units across Longford, Roscommon, Leitrim and Westmeath.
The Garda National Drugs and the Organised Crime Unit was established in 2015 and is tasked with disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting those involved in crimes including murder and drug trafficking.
The figures were released by Justice Minister Helen McEntee following a parliamentary question from Cork Sinn Fein TD Thomas Gould.
The Sligo/Leitrim Garda Division along with Westmeath both have 7 active Gardaí currently assigned to drugs units.
In the Sligo/Leitrim area this is an increase of 5 Gardaí since last year, with Westmeath seeing a further 2 extra Gardaí assigned in the same period.
Meanwhile the Roscommon/Longford drugs unit has seen a drop in staffing levels, with 4 Gardaí currently assigned, down from 6 in 2021.
The highest allocation of staff to a local drugs unit occurred in 2017 in the Sligo Leitrim Division where 14 Gardaí were part of anti drug operations.
Personnel levels in units across the country fell last year as the Country was still in the midst of Coronavirus pandemic measures.
Nationally, 312 Gardaí are assigned to GNDOCB units across the 28 Garda Divisions.
