Aine McEntee a.mcentee@belfastmediagroup.com

A 14 year old boy from North Belfast was told by a drug dealer to sell these bags of cocaine to pay off a debt, a local anti-drugs group has claimed.

Paddy Larkin of Concerned Families Against Drugs (CFAD) said a worried parent from Ardoyne Avenue contacted them after finding out their son was deep in debt to dealers.

"The drugs were found by a parent of a 14 year old boy and they took them off him and contacted us," Paddy said.

"It is very worrying and we're glad this parent approached us. Drugs are a scourge and this community wants rid of the dealers and away from their kids."

Meanwhile the group has said they want to clear up speculation that some of their members were behind a series of threats and sinister letters delivered in the area.

About two weeks ago over 20 people from Ardoyne and the Oldpark were warned by the PSNI their lives were under threat, Paddy said.

"Even though we are involved in an on-going anti-drug campaign CFAD had no involvement whatsoever in issuing threats and slam whoever did. The perception is that the threats are coming from us but they are not," he stated.

In the past CFAD and their supporters have marched on local houses to highlight the issue of drugs in the community. 

A representation from the group would give a person, they suspected of being involved in the drugs trade, a letter condemning their actions and also distributed that letter to neighbours. 

Several of those people targeted by CFAD included Laura Connolly, a young mum of two living in Ligoniel, who strongly denied she was a drug dealer and local shopowner Sean Cassidy who admitted that in the past he had taken drugs but not now.

Letters posted just a few short days ago to well-respected families in the Oldpark area under the banner of CFAD, were not sent by the anti-drugs pressure group Paddy Larkin insisted.

"We want to state categorically that CFAD have not sent any such letters to residents," he said.

"We are currently attempting to discover who is behind this smear campaign and using our group's name. When inquiries conclude those responsible will be identified and exposed to the wider community."