Drugs suspect caught with Irish passport

AN Irish passport found on a drug trafficking suspect in the Lebanon was most likely sold through the black market, gardaí believe.

The passport has been identified as belonging to a known drug addict from Tallaght, south-west Dublin.

A man holding this passport was one of four people arrested in a massive drugs bust, involving 53kgs of cocaine, in the Lebanon.

The main suspect arrested was named as Dutchman Robert Mink Kok, a notorious drugs trafficker with connections to criminal rings in at least four countries.

Gardaí confirmed they had been asked to provide assistance to Lebanese police investigating the operation. They traced the passport to a drug addict in Tallaght.

It is understood the passport had not been reported missing or stolen, although it is possible the owner did not realise it was no longer in his possession.

Gardaí suspect that, after it went missing it was sold on the black market and ended up being used by a drug gang member in the Lebanon.

People can receive around €200-€300 for selling a passports, according to garda sources.

The arrests were made last Sunday in one of Lebanon’s largest drug operations in more than a year and followed several months of investigation.

Officers from the Lebanese Drug Control Bureau chased two high-powered cars in an area north of Beirut after they were alerted to reports that drugs worth €1.6 million were hidden inside the vehicles.

Police arrested two Palestinians in the operation, along with Kok and the person carrying the Irish passport.

Police are trying to establish his real identity, but gardaí do not believe he is Irish.