Garda arrested following alleged links to organised crime group 

The garda was arrested by members of the anti-corruption unit and is being detained under organised crime legislation.  File picture

Gardaí are questioning a member of the force in relation to alleged links to an organised crime group operating in the South and East of the country.

The garda was arrested along with five other people — including suspected members of the criminal gang, early on Wednesday.

The arrest of the garda stems from an investigation into the disappearance in January 2024 of a sizeable quantity of drugs from a Garda station in the Eastern region.

A parallel investigation into wider alleged linkages between the garda and organised crime resulted in the five other arrests.

One of them is being questioned in relation to alleged corruption offences. The drug gang in question operates in a number of counties in the East and South.

The garda was arrested by members of the anti-corruption unit and is being detained under organised crime legislation.

The investigation began almost two years ago when a man was arrested in connection with a seizure of drugs, worth around €100,000.

When detectives went to retrieve exhibits from the seizure to put to him in questioning, they were unable to locate them.

The standard in drug seizures is to lodge exhibits in a secure location in a Garda station, but this appears not to have happened.

Based on intelligence, local detectives began inquiries and as a result, arrested a garda in relation to the missing drugs. As part of this investigation, they suspected linkages to members of a criminal gang.

Local detectives contacted the Garda Anti-Corruption Unit in Dublin in relation to the officer, which joined their investigation.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) was brought in to conduct inquiries on the criminal gang.

This resulted in a series of searches, in the South East, East, and Midlands.

A statement issued by Garda HQ said: “Gardaí in the Eastern Region initiated a full investigation surrounding the circumstances of the alleged unauthorised removal of a substantial quantity of controlled drugs from a Garda Station in January 2024.”

It said detective gardaí from the Eastern Region, supported by the Anti-Corruption Unit, DOCB, and Regional Garda Cyber Crime Bureau carried searches and arrests.

“Members of the Garda Anti-Corruption Unit arrested a member of An Garda Síochána who is currently detained under organised crime legislation,” it said.

It said DOCB arrested five people. This comprised a male, aged in his 30s, and a female, aged in her 40s, who are being detained at Garda stations in the Midlands.

A male, aged in his 40s, was in custody at a Garda station in the east of the country for “alleged related corruption offences”.

It said two males, aged in their 40s and 50s, were arrested and detained for alleged related drug trafficking and since released.