SOME heroin addicts are availing of "drastic treatment" abroad that involves the insertion of opiate implants, although concerns have been voiced about the impact if it fails.

Dundalk circuit court heard last week how Alan Moran (40) of Cox's Demesne, Dundalk, tried to rob three shops in 90 minutes after an implant that was fitted in Spain to neutralise the effects of opiates failed.

He went on a crime spree in Dundalk on 28 January and was jailed for three years on each charge last week. Defence counsel Lily Buckley said his implant had stopped working and he had taken heroin, crack cocaine, alcohol and benzodiazepine on the day of his attempted robberies.

A small but increasing number of heroin addicts avail of this treatment and other controversial treatments abroad to combat their addiction.

Gardaí in drug enforcement say some addicts move away from crime immediately afterwards as it helps them to "get clean in a matter of days" but many relapse and again become involved in sometimes more serious crime.

Another popular treatment for heroin addicts is the Detox-5 programme. Addicts from Ireland have been travelling to Britain to participate in the private programme, according to two groups that work with recovering addicts. Participants are sedated, allowing them to sleep through the first few days of their detox from heroin, while pain relief is administered to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. After detox, a medication known as naltrexone is prescribed, which blocks the effects of opiates in the brain.

Tony Geoghegan, director of Merchants Quay project in Dublin, said it was vital for addicts not to see these treatments as a "quick fix".

"Getting off drugs is easy. It's staying off them that is the really difficult part," he said.