Garda air unit attended 2,150 incidents last year

The Garda Air Support Unit flew more than 1,500 hours last year, targeting crimes in progress and on one occasion locating a missing person who may not otherwise have survived the night.

The details are contained in the annual report of An Garda Síochána, which also shows the gardaí’s dog unit was involved in 343 searches last year, including an operation in which €400,000 worth of heroin was found and another in which AK47 weapons were recovered.

The report shows that garda aircraft flew more than 1,550 hours on 1,507 flights while attending to over 2,150 incidents last year. The unit was also involved in the arrests of over 250 suspects, 15 missing person cases, and 60 vehicles were located.