THE head of the EU agency involved in Thursday’s cocaine haul described the operation as a “huge success”.

Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dermot Earley has joined Defence Minister Willie O'Dea in praising those involved in the successful operation to seize a record haul of cocaine off the Irish coast.

Today’s cocaine seizure off the south west coast could be worth as much as €500m, it has been revealed.

CUSTOMS have foiled a huge smuggling operation after seizing €11 million of cigarettes packed in containers — the second largest seizure of its kind in the state.

THE Customs Service had a record year in 2007, seizing drugs with an estimated street value of €138m.

Gardaí and the Customs Service have seized a large quantity of herbal cannabis which arrived in Ireland by mail.

A NEW EU agency will clamp down on the trafficking of cocaine into Ireland and the rest of western Europe, Justice Minister Brian Lenihan said yesterday.

GARDAÍ believe a father and son arrested in a massive drug bust in Donegal are working for a big criminal gang in the North.

Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone was out of pocket by more than €7,000 today after being fined for importing banned drugs into Australia.

Irish Olympian Cathal Lombard was caught taking performance enhancing drugs following a tip-off from customs officials, it emerged today.

A MASSIVE seizure of €1.2m ecstasy tablets over the weekend — thought to be the biggest on record — has underlined a major increase in drug hauls so far this year.

THE long-sought Department of Homeland Security will begin taking shape on March 1 when the Secret Service, Customs Service and several huge agencies will be folded into the massive new department.

US President George W Bush has named Tom Ridge to head the new Department of Homeland Security, but said even the biggest government shake-up in more than a half century can “neither predict nor prevent every conceivable attack”.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered several stringent measures Wednesday to make the nation's airports and skies safer, while allowing limited air traffic to resume late in the day.