Largest cocaine haul seized in 18 months

GARDAÍ and Customs have made the largest seizure of cocaine in over a year-and-a-half in an operation targeting a Nigerian drug-trafficking gang.

They confiscated 29kgs of cocaine, with a street value of €2 million, during a raid on a “drug mixing and distribution” factory at an apartment in Navan, Co Meath.

While gardaí do not yet know the purity of the cocaine, they expect it could be at the higher end of the scale given it had just entered Ireland from South America.

The cocaine was due to be diluted and bulked up with mixing agents. This would have increased its volume and price by as much as eight-fold, bringing the possible final quantity to as much as 230kgs and the street value to as high as €16m.

Garda sources said they were “concerned” at the volume involved.

It is understood there are some circumstances in the case which raise the possibility that not all of the cocaine may have been for the Irish market.

On Wednesday Customs officers at Dublin Airport became suspicious at what was a fake diplomatic bag, which claimed to be for the Honorary Counsel for South Africa, Tony Tutu.

Customs contacted the Garda National Drug Unit and a controlled delivery operation was put in place.

Three Nigerian men, aged 31, 34 and 36, are being questioned.

It is the largest seizure of cocaine since the haul of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine off the Cork coast in November 2008.