Two men arrested after gardaí seize €2.8m worth of cannabis and firearm
The seizures followed a surveillance operation on the gang, which is believed to be relatively new.
The Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) intercepted a van and a truck near Cloghran, north Dublin, yesterday morning and uncovered 400kg of cannabis in the van.
At a street value of €7,000 per kilogramme, gardaí have estimated the haul to be worth about €2.8m.
Officers also arrested two men, the driver of the van and the truck driver.
“It’s the six million dollar question as regards what impact this will have on the gang,” said a garda source.
“But it is bound to have some impact given the size of the seizure and the fact that two were arrested.”
The two men, aged 41 and 24, were arrested and detained under the Drug Trafficking Act, which provides a maximum detention period of seven days.
They were quizzed at separate stations in Whitehall and Malahide.
Gardaí suspect the drugs were transferred to the van earlier from the articulated truck, which is believed to have brought the drugs into the country.
Gardaí declined yesterday to say whether the two men arrested were mere couriers for the gang, or whether either of them was higher up the criminal ladder.
Sources yesterday said the operation against the gang had been ongoing for a number of months and was assisted by the Garda National Surveillance Unit (GNDU).
The GNDU carried out follow-up searches yesterday afternoon, during which they seized a car, a firearm and ammunition in the East Wall area of the north inner city. Additional searches were planned for last night and this morning.
Meanwhile, the Customs Service intercepted a cocaine smuggler at Dublin Airport on Sunday night.
The man, a US national, had swallowed 80 pellets of cocaine, weighing about 800g, with a street value of €56,000.
Last Wednesday, Customs at Dublin Airport intercepted an Estonian national who had swallowed 60 pellets of cocaine, weighing 600g and with a street value of €42,000.
Customs said they had caught three “swallowers” so far this year, compared to nine for the whole of last year.
In total, 31.5kg of cocaine has been seized at Dublin Airport this year.
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