REVENUE OFFICERS AT Portlaoise Mail Centre have seized 12kg of Mitragynine powder, also known as kratom.
The drugs – worth an estimated €240,000 – were discovered in several separate parcels originating in Indonesia, and were destined for addresses in Roscommon and Dublin.
The powder is classed as a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Acts, and in low doses can have a “cocaine-like stimulant effort” according to the HSE’s drugs website.
In high doses, it can have sedative-narcotic effects.
In a separate seizure, Revenue officers at the same location seized 350g of herbal cannabis worth €7,000 and Khat worth €2,000.
The cannabis was Dublin-bound and hidden inside a tin of biscuits. It had come to Ireland from the USA.
The Khat, which came from Kenya, was also bound for Dublin in a package labelled “clothing”.
Investigations are ongoing.
Since the start of this year, there have been 119 illegal drug detections at Portlaoise Mail Centre, Revenue added.
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