Ireland 'an easy touch' for drug gangs with consignments coming in 'every day'

The scene near Leap, West Cork, last month, where gardaí intercepted a major drug smuggling ring.

Ships carrying large drug consignments are coming into Ireland “every day of the week” with only about 10% being detected by authorities, sources say.

A record 3.15 tonnes of cocaine and heroin with an estimated street value of €280m was seized in 2023. If this represented just 10% of total imports, some 31.5 tonnes of those drugs alone would have been imported and trafficked through Ireland last year.