Garda boss builds 'network' during high-level trips to the Americas

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that through the Garda liaison officer, An Garda Síochána has managed to develop strong relationships with law enforcement agencies in the region.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris meets with law enforcement agencies in South and Central America, including Brigadier General Wilson Gonzalez, ambassador Fiona Nic Dhonnacha, and General Felipe Gonzalez (Mexico militaryattaché to Colombia). Picture: @gardainfo

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said it “takes a network to defeat a network” during a high-level visit to Colombia, where discussions centred on the booming cocaine trade from South America to Europe.

In what is thought to be the first Irish police trip of its kind, Commissioner Harris met the leader of the Colombian national police, the country’s deputy defence minister, and the Mexican military attaché.

His visit follows the establishment of a Garda liaison officer in Bogotá, the Colombian capital, in 2021, as part of the commissioner’s expansion of overseas offices to South America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Through the GLO, An Garda Síochána has developed strong relationships with individual law enforcement agencies in the region and police co-operation body Ameripol, among other agencies. Picture: @gardainfo

The trip to Colombia comes after a lengthy visit to the US where he met with the leaders of a range of US law enforcement agencies, during which he got a detailed update on the effects of US sanctions against Kinahan Cartel leaders and the international criminal investigation against them.

In Bogotá, along with Ireland’s ambassador Fiona Nic Dhonnacha, Commissioner Harris met Brigadier General Wilson Gonzalez of Policía de Colombia and General Felipe Gonzalez, Mexico’s military attaché to Colombia.

Posing for photographs afterwards, Commissioner Harris said: “It takes a network to defeat a network.” 

The Garda boss also met the Garda liaison officer (GLO) to the South American region, based in Bogotá. 

In addition, he met Alberto Lara, vice minister for defence in Colombia.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris met Alberto Lara, vice minister for defence in Colombia. Picture: @gardainfo

Commissioner Harris said that through the GLO, An Garda Síochána has managed to develop strong relationships with individual law enforcement agencies in the region and continent-wide police co-operation body Ameripol.

Colombia is the biggest producer of cocaine in the world, and trafficking from the country and other cocaine producers, Bolivia and Peru, has increased substantially into Europe in the last decade.

Despite the successes gardaí and international police forces have had against the Kinahan organised crime group, the organisation still has deep connections with Colombian cartels.

Gardaí also say there are other international crime groups operating in South America that supply cocaine to Ireland.

Commissioner Harris placed an emphasis on expanding the overseas garda liaison network beyond Europe and North America, with a new position in Colombia.

This is to be followed this year by a location in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where the Kinahan leaders made their base, and another in South East Asia.

Last week, on a visit to the US, the commissioner met a range of top officials in US law enforcement, including the leaders of the Drug Enforcement Agency; Customs and Border Protection; Homeland Security; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly, head of Organised and Serious Crime, accompanied the commissioner to the US, and obtained briefings.