More than three tonnes of cocaine and heroin seized in 2023

Drugs haul has an estimated street value of around €280m

Earlier this month, 300kgs of cocaine was seized on board the MV Verilain Foynes port, Co Limerick. Picture. Brian Arthur

Revenue has seized more than three tonnes of cocaine and heroin in 2023 — a record amount.

The tally was dominated by the colossal haul of 2.23 tonnes of cocaine off the Cork coast in September.

That seizure was followed by two particularly large hauls this month: 60kgs of heroin at a private airport in Dublin and 300kgs of cocaine in a Limerick port.

Separate figures supplied to the Irish Examiner show that almost 40,000 weapons were seized at ports, airports, and postal centres.

These include knives, swords, and firearms’ ammunition.

Revenue figures for seizures of illegal drugs, up to the end of November, show:

• Cannabis herb and resin – 2.921tonnes, with an estimated street value of €55.96m;
• Cocaine and heroin – 2.788tonnes (€195.18m);
• Amphetamines, ecstasy and other – 2.242tonnes (€8.12m);

In addition, this month, 60kgs of heroin was seized at Dublin's Weston Airport on December 1 and 300kgs of cocaine was seized in Foynes port, Co Limerick.

This brings the total cocaine and heroin tally to 3.15tonnes for 2023, the highest on record by some distance and with an estimated street value of around €280m.

Apart from the 2.23tonne haul on board the MV Matthew in Cork in September, the 300kg seizure on board the MV Verila in Foynes port is the largest cocaine seizure since August 2021, when 500kgs were seized in Dublin Port.

The 60kg heroin seizure is also the largest since August 2021, when 88kgs were seized in Rosslare Port.

Security sources have told the Irish Examiner that Europe is being ‘bombarded’ with cocaine, an assault that they say shows no signs of letting up.

Gardaí and deck hands on the MV Matthew berthed at Marino Point, Cork.  Picture: Dan Linehan

While the 60kg heroin seizure shows the drug is still available, security experts predict a dramatic shift in the market if the Taliban continue with their opium eradication campaign in Afghanistan.

Sources have said that the stocks of heroin are being rapidly used up and fear a potential large-scale shift to the production of synthetic opiates, which are far more powerful than heroin.

Irish authorities have been preparing for the arrival of synthetic opiates for a while now and warnings were issued this month about overdoses in Dublin and Cork associated with nitazine, one such synthetic opiate.

As the Irish Examiner revealed last July, major Irish heroin traffickers have travelled to South America, along with other European importers, to hold discussions with Mexican cartels about the logistics of shipping huge quantities of fentanyl, another synthetic opiate, which has played a major role in the opiate epidemic in the US.

Revenue’s seizure of cannabis herb and resin also increased this year, with over 2.9tonnes confiscated. 

This compares to 1.68tonnes in 2022, 1.75tonnes in 2021, 1.4tonnes in 2020 and 515kg in 2019.

Elsewhere, Revenue made 541 seizures involving weapons up to the end of November 2023, totaling 39,698 weapons.

While there is no breakdown of the type of weapons, Revenue said they included “firearms’ ammunition, swords, and knives".