Gardaí and Customs find €9.8m concealed in furniture in Dublin Port search operation

Two separate search operations, one in Dublin Port and the other in Drogheda, have seen an estimated €10m of drugs seized.

LAST UPDATE | 25 Nov 2021

GARDAÍ AND CUSTOMS believe they have disturbed a major smuggling operation through Dublin Port with the seizure of drugs worth €9.8m.

The seizure was made as a result of a joint operation conducted by Revenue’s Customs Service and the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB).

A Revenue spokesperson said the drugs arrived into Ireland from the Netherlands and were concealed inside furniture.

“Yesterday as part of an investigation targeting transnational organised crime groups, Revenue officers seized 60kg of cocaine, 22kg of heroin, 145kg of cannabis resin, 79kg of cannabis herb and 1kg of ketamine at Dublin Port. The illegal drugs have a combined estimated value of almost €9.8 million.

“The drugs were discovered concealed within a furniture consignment which had arrived from the Netherlands. The search of the consignment was carried out with the assistance of Revenue’s mobile x-ray scanner and detector dog Robbie,” the spokesperson said.

Following the initial operation at the port the Customs and garda detectives moved to a follow-up search in the Rathcoole area of Dublin where they found 960kgs of tobacco valued at over €600,000 was seized from a storage unit in the Rathcoole area of Dublin.

“Investigations are ongoing with the assistance of the GNDOCB and in collaboration with international law enforcement partners,” the Revenue spokesperson added.

In a separate operation in Louth the Drogheda Drugs Unit discovered a large stash of prescription drugs.

Drogheda Nov 24 2021 The prescription drugs found in the Drogheda operation. Garda Press Office Garda Press Office

A garda spokesperson said that the seizure of €247,000 worth of suspected Diazepam tablets was made overnight in the town.

“The seizure was made in the Legavoureen area of Drogheda shortly before 11pm, when Gardaí attached to the Divisional Drugs Unit at Drogheda conducted a search operation.

“During the course of this search they located more than €247,000 worth of suspected Diazepam tablets. An investigation into this seizure is ongoing. No arrests have been made at this time.

“This search was conducted as part of Operation Stratus, an ongoing operation targeting the sale and supply of illegal drugs in Drogheda,” the garda spokesperson said.