Figures available for the past six years show that the Irish Customs Service has examined 2,087 vessels. In the five year period ending December 2000, 970 kg. of cocaine and 3,280 kg. of cannabis resin with a total estimated street value of £202 million, or €256.5 million, has been seized at sea. In 2001, 504 examinations of ships took place and, in 2002, the number of such examinations increased to 587. These examinations typically involve boardings and/or partial or full searches of the cargo. Co-operation between the law enforcement agencies of the member states and beyond is vital in tackling the supply of drugs as drug traffickers recognise no national borders and the drugs trade is truly international.