State faces calls for security review into private airfields after judge's drug trafficking comments

The number of private airfields in Ireland is unclear, but some sources suggest there are more than 30 active airfields across the country

Judge Keenan Johnson called for a 'significant upgrading' after gardaí seized a Cessna single-engine aircraft that landed in Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, Longford, as part of a drug trafficking investigation. Picture: An Garda Síochána/PA

Opposition parties have urged the Government to review security at the country’s private airfields, after a judge described as “extraordinary” evidence that the airfields operated as “open corridors” for drug trafficking.

Sentencing Tim Gilchrist, from Waterford, on Thursday, in relation to the smuggling of 120kgs of cocaine on board a light aircraft into Abbeyshrule Aerodrome in Longford, Judge Keenan Johnson called for a “significant upgrading” of security at private airfields and for 24-hour monitoring and checks.