Hezbollah and Dutch & Iranian gangs behind West Cork drug smuggling attempt

Thursday's events in the West Cork seaside village of Tragumna, above, and nearby Leap, culminated in a garda swoop on a jeep, an articulated lorry, and a camper van. File picture: Denis Scannell

A global drug trafficking ring run by Dutch and Iranian crime bosses — and most likely involving the Lebanese militant organisation Hezbollah — is suspected of being behind the failed attempt to import up to two tonnes of cocaine along the Cork coast.

Gardaí believe they have dismantled a major “logistics and landing” team organised by the ring after they arrested 10 suspects and seized a number of vehicles, including an articulated truck, in West Cork.