Drugs worth €2m seized as Dutch-British trafficking gang hit second time in a week

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau recovered an estimated €2m worth of drugs, including 18kg of cocaine, in Louth and Dublin on Wednesday morning.

Gardaí and the PSNI have hit a wholesale Dutch-British drug-trafficking gang for the second time in a week.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau recovered an estimated €2m worth of drugs, including 18kg of cocaine, in Louth and Dublin on Wednesday morning.

It follows the interception of an estimated €8m worth cannabis, cocaine, and ketamine in Belfast a week ago.

In both instances, the cocaine was contained inside olive tins, with a label claiming they were from Spain.

The suppliers, comprising British and Dutch criminal bosses, run the supply operation and act as wholesalers for drug gangs on both sides of the border.

Sources said they typically use Indian and Pakistani workers to do the physical movement of the drugs.

“They are importers and provide a service for the drug groups,” a security source said. 

“They take the risks of logistics and charge a price to the gangs.

“They use whichever ports that suits them, north or south, at any given time and keep moving from one to another.” 

Two men were arrested, an Indian national with an address in Drogheda and an Irishman, with an address in Ballymun, north Dublin, who is known as a runner for a local gang.

In a statement, Garda HQ said: “This operation is a result of ongoing investigations and collaboration between the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, targeting organised crime activity impacting both jurisdictions, under the cross border Joint Agency Task Force.” 

The statement said that on Wednesday, shortly before 9am, officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau supported by the Louth South Divisional Drugs Unit, intercepted a vehicle in the Drogheda area of Co Louth.

“Simultaneous searches commenced of a business premises in Drogheda and two residential premises in Drogheda and North Dublin,” it said. 

“During the course of this operation, cocaine (subject to analysis) and cannabis, with an estimated potential street value of €1.94m was seized.” 

It said that two males, aged 30s and 40s, were arrested under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, on suspicion of facilitating and enhancing drug trafficking for a criminal organisation.

They are being held under Section 50 of Criminal Justice Act, 2007, at a Louth Garda Station.

Following the operation, the head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland said: "An Garda Síochána are committed, along with our partners in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, to prioritise the joint targeting of criminal organisations that attempt to exploit our land border, for serious criminal activity.

“Drug traffickers, and those that facilitate and enhance this activity, remain priority targets for our investigations, due to the destruction, violence and intimidation they cause in our communities. 

"I encourage everyone to play their part, help us and report all information confidentially to the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111”.