Four men to appear in court after gardaí strike blow to drug smuggling operation

Several suspects attempted to flee the scene by swimming in the River Liffey, though gardaí managed to apprehend some of them, it is understood

The incident involved a daring attempt at a river escape by suspects in the €2m haul, which was thwarted when a garda swam after them in the River Liffey, it is understood. File picture

Four men are to appear in court this morning after gardaí disrupted two separate drug smuggling routes – one involving liquid cocaine concealed in wine and champagne - that they suspect are linked to the Kinahan crime cartel.

In one of the operations, gardaí arrested six individuals, described as “significant players” of the Kinahan cartel’s “national distribution network”.

In the other operation, involving the confiscation of liquid cocaine, gardaí arrested a man who has since been charged and due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice today.

A garda spokesperson said: "Gardaí from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, supported by a Special Crime Task Force, who are investigating the seizure of cannabis, cocaine and heroin with an estimated street value of over €2 million along with cash in excess of €864,000, on Wednesday June 22 2022, have charged four of the men arrested.

"All four men are expected to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice, Dublin, at 10.30am on Friday, June 24."

One man remains in Garda custody and investigations are ongoing.

During one of the operations, several suspects attempted to evade gardaí by jumping into the River Liffey and swimming away before being apprehended. 

Gardaí seized an estimated €2m-plus worth of drugs in the two operations and up to €1m in cash.

In the first operation, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Bureau (DOCB) confiscated champagne and wine infused with liquid cocaine in a house in Beaumont, north Dublin.

This is one of a number of seizures of liquid cocaine in wine bottles in recent months, both by Gardaí and Customs, in what is suspected to be a new method to conceal cocaine.

The Kinahan cartel has long had extensive connections with South American trafficking gangs.

Gangs that smuggle liquid cocaine, either in liquids or, more traditionally, in clothing, fly “chemists” in to extract the liquid cocaine and convert it into powder cocaine.

Gardaí suspect that this new concealment method - inside alcohol bottles - was created during Covid-19 in response to the dramatic drop-off in people travelling.

The South American cartels infuse the cocaine into wine and champagne bottles that continued to be ordered and shipped worldwide during the pandemic, sources suspect.

Gardaí estimate that over 2kgs of liquid cocaine was contained in the alcohol, with an estimated street value of around €150,000.

Officers said they suspect that a North Dublin organised crime group linked to the Kinahan cartel was involved in the Irish end of the operation.

This Dublin group is led by a major drug figure that has previously been linked to the murder of Real IRA boss Alan Ryan in 2012.

In the second operation, also on Wednesday, the DOCB, assisted by the Special Crime Task Force, intercepted a car on the M50.

Six males fled and a number jumped into the River Liffey and tried to escape. A number of gardaí jumped in after them and managed to make arrests.

A total of five were taken into custody and the sixth male was picked up on Thursday.

Sources have described this group as “significant players in the Kinahan crime gang’s national distribution network”. Two of those arrested are brothers from the north inner city.

The investigation team also searched premises located in Palmerstown, west Dublin and Dublin’s south east inner city.

Gardaí seized cannabis, cocaine and heroin, with an estimated street sale value in excess of €2m.

A substantial quantity of cash, suspected to amount to close to €1m was also seized, along with equipment used for the purpose of money counting and vacuum-packing money and drugs along with communications devices and a substantial quantity of relevant documentation.

European police and drug agencies have detailed in recent years how international traffickers were using different methods to conceal cocaine and identified an increase in cocaine-processing laboratories in Europe.

In July 2021, gardaí took delivery of 2,000 bags of charcoal, that had been infused with an estimated 500kgs of cocaine, from Dutch authorities.

The shipment had arrived in Rotterdam but was bound for Ireland.

In June 2002, Customs officers discovered, for the first time, liquid cocaine that had been impregnated into clothing. The 5kgs of cocaine had been soaked into a pair of jeans, smuggled into the country by a Brazilian national.

Two years later, gardaí made a similar discovery in Kilkenny, where a South American “chemist” was arrested.