Seizure of illegal goods at Rosslare up by almost €11m on last year

ALMOST €11 million worth of illegal goods have been seized in Rosslare Port so far this year, compared to just €200,000 in 2003, new figures show.

The news follows the biggest ever drugs haul at Rosslare on Thursday night, with the seizure of cannabis with an estimated street value of over €6 million.

Customs figures show that almost €7m worth of illegal drugs and €4m worth of smuggled cigarettes have been seized so far this year at Rosslare Port.

Last year, just over €200,000 worth of cigarettes were found and no drug shipments were seized.

Garda in Wexford, assisted by officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU), were last night questioning a British national in connection with the haul of 850kgs of cannabis resin.

An initial estimate of €5.9m by customs was updated yesterday by gardaí to €6.3m.

Rosslare customs officer Frank Lally said the seizure resulted as a result of risk analysis and profiling.

“We know our customers. We know our particular port and know the traffic coming in and out. We look at the manifest list and scrutinise and authenticate them and see if there is anything suspect.”

He said when the vehicle was checked, the container was packed with 17 unmarked cardboard boxes containing cannabis, which were camouflaged by other boxes.

The container arrived in a ferry from Spain via Cherbourg.

A large number of major Irish traffickers are based in Spain.

Customs officers arrested the truck driver on suspicion of smuggling prohibited items and contacted local gardaí.

Sgt Michael Walsh of Wexford Garda Station said the suspect was a 41-year-old Welsh national, with an address in Carlow.

He said the man was being detained under section two of the Drug Trafficking Act, which allows a maximum detention period of seven days.

“Our inquiries are continuing and we are being assisted by our colleagues in the Garda National Drugs Unit and in Europe.”

Detectives will try and establish the identities of those who were due to receive the shipment.

Mr Lally said there had been “a significant increase” in smuggling through the port in 2004, compared to 2003.

“I’m not sure why. We are developing our profiling, our analysis and are more experienced. There is also far more cooperation with our colleagues in Europe and with gardaí.”

Sgt Walsh expressed concern at the size of the haul and the increase in trafficking at the port.

“The reward for these individuals is huge. But we work well with customs and share intelligence.”