42kg of drugs in post

FOUR people have been arrested following two separate drug seizures in the postal service.

The first haul, of 42kg of herbal cannabis, is thought to be one of the biggest seizures of drugs smuggled through the post.

The consignment, with a street value of about €420,000, was detected after customs officers scanned four parcels with an X-ray.

The haul was uncovered at the Portlaoise Mail Depot in parcels sent from South Africa.

The follow-up operation resulted in the arrest of a 28-year-old Irish national in Waterford city.

Mr Colgan said 42kg was “a very significant detection by post” and the standard range of large mail seizures was between 10kg and 30kg.

In a second seizure, customs officers at Dublin Airport seized 6kg of herbal cannabis and 0.25kg of cannabis resin in parcels sent by airmail.

In a follow-up operation, the GNDU and the Garda Drug Unit in Mullingar arrested three Polish men, all aged in their 20s. The drugs, contained in two parcels, were posted in Poland.

“A significant amount of cannabis and other drugs are coming through the mail,” said Mr Colgan.