Drugs and cash seized in airport swoops

Quantities of drugs, cash, tobacco and cigarettes were seized in separate swoops at Dublin Airport in recent days.

Customs officers have now seized up to €3m worth of drugs, €280,000 in cash and 13 million cigarettes to date in 2009.

Customs officers yesterday seized €37,000 in cash from a Congolese national who arrived on a flight from Amsterdam.

The passenger was arrested by gardaí and the money has been confiscated for three months for gardaí to carry out investigations.

On Saturday, a 27-year-old Belgian national was discovered with 3.5kg of herbal cannabis, valued at €42,000, concealed in his baggage.

The man, who had arrived on a flight from Belgium, was handed over to the Garda Drug Unit in Santry.

Last Thursday a 20 year-old Romanian was found to have swallowed 34 pellets of cocaine weighing 0.5kg and valued at €35,000.

The passenger, who had arrived from Brazil, appeared in Dublin District Court today and was remanded in custody.