Body found in fridge prompts drugs swoop

THE discovery of the body of an Irishman in a fridge in Portugal has sparked a massive police investigation into international drugs trafficking.

The body of the man, believed to be in his 30s and from the northside of Cork city, was found in a fridge in an apartment in the Algarve on Thursday.

Portuguese police, who are investigating major drug trafficking, arrested four Irishmen and a local man in connection with the death.

Three of them are from Cork and are said by garda sources to be in their 20s and 40s. The other man is from Coolock, Dublin.

Intensive search and surveillance operations were mounted by gardaí in Dublin and Cork last night and are expected to go on for several days. In particular, associates of the men are being targeted.

Senior garda sources said that the dead man was known to them, as were three of the Irishmen arrested.

The gang is believed to have been involved for some time in drug trafficking and has connections in the trade in Portugal, Spain and London.

A number of connected searches were carried out in Dublin yesterday, yielding drugs and firearms.

Several shotguns, cocaine with an estimated street value of €900,000, and approximately €80,000 in cash were recovered following raids on houses in Blanchardstown, Balbriggan and Ballymun.

A garda spokesman said 12kg of cocaine was seized when a house was searched in the Balbriggan area. Detectives also uncovered several kilogrammes of mixing agent at the property, together with the cash.

Two men, one in his mid 50s and the other in his mid 20s, was arrested at the scene and taken to Balbriggan Garda Station.

In the Ballymun area, a search led to the arrest of a 45-year-old woman and the seizure of a firearm.

A man in his 50s was arrested when detectives discovered 3kg of cocaine concealed in his car. He was taken to Blanchardstown Garda Station.