Man arrested at airport over swallowed cocaine pellets

An American man was tonight being questioned by gardai after customs officers at Dublin Airport found he had swallowed 80 pellets of cocaine valued at €56,000.

The 26-year-old, who had arrived from Charleroi, Belgium was intercepted and taken for questioning.

Customs officers became suspicious during an interview and he was found to have ingested 80 pellets of cocaine, weighing approximately 0.8kgs.

He was handed over to the Garda Drug Squad at Santry where he is being questioned.

Three so-called drug mules have been intercepted at Dublin Airport so far this year. And in total 31.5Kgs of cocaine has been seized at the airport. During 2005 nine mules were detected by customs at Dublin Airport.

Last week customs officers at the airport intercepted a 26-year-old Estonian man travelling from Brussels. He was found to have ingested €60 pellets of cocaine, containing 0.6kgs, with a street value of €42,000. He was handed over to the Garda Drug Squad at Santry and later remanded in custody.

Meanwhile, gardaí were continuing to question two men after a stash of cannabis worth almost €3m was discovered in Co Dublin.

Around 400 kilos of cannabis resin was seized after gardai stopped a van on Baskin Lane, Cloghran in Co Dublin in the early hours of the morning.

Gardaí said the seizure was the result of an ongoing operation by the Garda National Drugs Unit and officers from the National Surveillance Unit.

Two men, aged 41 and 24, were arrested at the scene and are being questioned at Whitehall and Malahide Garda Stations.

The men are behind held under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act.

Gardai estimate the large quantity of cannabis resin may have a potential street value of up to €2.8m.

John Curran, a TD for Dublin Mid West, said the seizure of cannabis, a van and an articulated lorry off the M50 represented a victory for gardaí in their efforts to tackle Dublin drug gangs.

“Cutting off the supply of drugs is essential if we are to strip the gangs of funds which they use to bring fear into our communities. The close links between the drugs trade and those who are attempting to bring gun law to Dublin are well established and there is no doubt this seizure is a setback for the gangs,” the Fianna Fáil TD said.

Mr Curran said the operation was the latest in a string of successful seizures by gardaí and Customs.

“Clearly surveillance is paying off and both forces deserve to be congratulated for the work they are doing,” he said.

“The frontline work being undertaken by the National Drugs Unit is essential if we are to cut off this deadly trade. Anyone with information on the trade should come forward to the Gardaí and remove this scourge from our communities.”