Five arrested as gardaí investigate €58m drug smuggling plot through West Cork
Gardaí conducted searches at various locations across the country during which five were arrested
Five people have been arrested by gardaí investigating an attempt by an international crime group to import a massive quantity of drugs into Ireland, through West Cork, last year.
The five, three men and two women who range in age from their 20s to their 60s, were arrested during a major garda operation on Tuesday involving officers from the Cork County Crime Section, members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), members of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and officers from the Wexford/Wicklow Crime Section.
The operation involved searches at a number of locations across the country, including on the southside of Dublin.
“All five persons were arrested for alleged offences contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006 and continue to be detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Garda Stations in the Dublin Region and the Eastern Region,” a garda spokesman said.
Section 72 relates to enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit a serious offence.
The five suspects were identified during extensive garda investigations into the attempt last year to import drugs through Tragumna in Co Cork.
Gardaí mounted a massive surveillance operation on March 12, 2024 following a tip-off from a “concerned citizen” about suspicious activity around Tragumna Pier, including the parking of a Land Rover, a camper van, and an articulated truck, as well as several people present.
As part of the surveillance operation, gardaí were made aware of the launch of a 40-ft rigid inflatable boat (RIB) equipped with three high-powered engines, and which had been adapted with “stealth capabilities.
Almost 48 hours later, the three vehicles returned to the pier and the RIB returned without any drugs.
On March 14, 2024, gardaí swooped on the camper van as it travelled through Leap and arrested six men. They arrested four others at Tragumna pier.
All 10 were subsequently charged with conspiracy to import drugs and they are awaiting trial.
They include Irish citizens, Iranian-born Dutch citizens, a Serbian and several Spaniards.
Previous court hearings have heard how gardaí investigating the case recovered walkie-talkies, personal phones and satellite “burner” phones and maritime clothing.
The entire cost of materials, including the boat, travel, and accommodation, was estimated to be €700,000.
The courts have been told that the RIB originated in Portugal and was brought via the Netherlands to Rosslare and from there to a yard in Omagh, Co Tyrone, where it underwent extensive modifications to give it ‘stealth capabilities’.
It has been alleged that the RIB went to collect drugs from a “mothership”, but that it missed the rendezvous due to a storm and returned to Tragumna empty.
While no drugs were landed in west Cork, an estimated 840 kilos of cocaine worth some €58m was found washed up on beaches in Denmark a few weeks later.
It is believed these drugs may have been part of haul that was destined for Ireland.
The garda investigation into the case has been ongoing since with the five people arrested on Tuesday now being quizzed about the extensive logistical support that would have been required for such an operation.
They can be detained for up to a week and gardaí said their investigations are ongoing.
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