Irish security forces play key role in €250m drugs haul

Over 20 tonnes of hashish was discovered on board a large shipping vessel off the coast of the Canary Islands. 

Picture: Irish Naval Service/Facebook

Almost €250m worth of hashish was seized by Spanish authorities acting on information received from Ireland.

Information provided by the Irish Navy, An Garda Síochána and Revenue Customs Service to the Portgual-based Maritime Analysis Operations Centre - Narcotics (MAOC-N) led to the find.

The drugs were intended for the European market.

It is understood to be one of the largest hashish seizures ever made in European waters, with Irish services playing a crucial role in the operation. 

A large shipping vessel was boarded off the coast of the Canary Islands, and over 20 tonnes of hashish was found. Images released by the Spanish police show the drugs packed in large canvas bags.

Head of MAOC Michael O’Sullivan told RTÉ the Irish information prompted an investigation in Spain which led to the ship being seized on Tuesday.

The drugs were being moved from Africa to Europe, and at least two men have been arrested.

Naval Service intelligence prompted the seizure of €250m of hashish by the Spanish authorities after they monitored a “vessel of interest” which had previously been under suspicion but had fallen off the radar.

The fishing vessel, Odyssey 227, was suspected for operating drugs shipments from North Africa to Europe for a number of years and first came to intelligence prominence in 2019. But it “then went quiet” all of a sudden, according to intelligence sources However, Naval Service intelligence, based at their headquarters in Haulbowline, Co Cork kept an eye on it with sophisticated satellite tracking and noticed in this spring it had become active again.

After building a “profiling case” they passed on the intelligence to the MAOC. 

This is being seen as a major coup for the Naval Service, especially as it's suffering from manpower losses and less ships at sea as a result.