Irish man, 40, arrested over 55kg cocaine seizure in Peru

Police believe the arrested men intended to smuggle to drugs to the UK

The Irish man and two others were arrested after detectives intercepted a rented car with suitcases containing the cocaine inside.

A 40-year-old Irish man has been arrested in Peru following the seizure of 55kg worth of cocaine by police.

The man was one of three detained in the Peruvian capital, Lima, following a surveillance operation by detectives from the National Police of Peru's Anti-Narcotics Unit, known as Dirandro.

The other two arrested men are understood to be a British citizen and a Bulgarian.

The Bulgarian, who was living in Lima, has been described locally as a “key player in the drug trafficking industry” who police say was working with Irish and British criminals to smuggle cocaine from South America to Europe.

The trio were detained after detectives who had been tailing them intercepted vehicle with suitcases containing the drugs.

They had been under surveillance after entering Peru separately on July 21. According to Dirandro's head of investigations, detectives filmed the Irish man and the British citizen greeting each other at Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport.

They also reportedly rented an apartment in the eastern Lima district of La Molina, as well as a Nissan car to get around where they are said to have loaded the cocaine. 

It has not been made clear when exactly the arrests took place.

Police believe the men intended to smuggle to drugs to the UK.

On Tuesday, all three men were being held in prison on remand after appearing before a judge and being warned they face five years behind bars, if convicted.