Top officers join cocaine shipments fight

A senior Garda and top customs official are to join an elite European agency fighting cocaine shipments into Ireland, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said tonight.

The officers are being seconded to the Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC) after the Irish Government signed up to the international task force.

Mr Ahern said he got he got Cabinet approval for the move which will see Ireland, the UK, Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy link up to fight drug smuggling.

“The pooling of resources makes sense and will lead to greater monitoring of suspicious vessels heading towards Irish waters,” he said.

“This in turn will lead to increased seizures and a reduction in the supply of cocaine. This centre will make the EU a much more hostile place for cocaine traffickers to operate.”

The MAOC will collect and analyse information on drug trafficking and enhance intelligence exchange between countries.

It will target large sea and airborne cocaine shipments into Europe, particularly from South and Latin America.

An Irish naval officer will also be seconded, when needed, to the centre which will house Europol and US Joint Inter-Agency Task Force observers.

“With over 16% of EU territorial waters in the Irish zone, the reasons for Irish participation in this initiative are obvious,” said Mr Ahern.

“Ireland has played a leading role in the establishment of this centre which will lead the fight against those trafficking cocaine into Europe and consequently into Ireland.

“The supply of cocaine in Irish society has increased enormously in recent years.

“This causes obvious social and health consequences and fuels organised and gangland crime, and ultimately leads to a futile loss of life.”