PSNI seize drugs and cash of criminal network with 'large footprint across Ireland and UK'
Part of the seizures at the airports in the North. The PSNI said the 'organised criminal network were suspected to be involved in moving drugs and cash within luggage on aeroplanes.' Picture: PSNI
The PSNI have hit a major criminal network with a “large footprint across the UK and Ireland” following substantial seizures of drugs and cash at airports in the North.
The hauls follow two seizures in the last week, on both sides of the border, as part of a joint Garda-PSNI operation targeting a British-Dutch supply network shipping drugs in through ports.
In a statement, the PSNI on Thursday said that the organisation’s Organised Crime Branch had recently conducted an intensification of activity across Northern Ireland’s main airports.
“The proactive operation specifically targeted an organised criminal network who were suspected to be involved in moving drugs and cash within luggage on aeroplanes,” it said. “Throughout the last few months, cannabis with a potential street value of over £2m has been seized by officers, as well as a large sum of cash.”
It said that nine men and two women were also arrested on suspicion of drugs-related offences in connection with the investigation. They were later charged and have all subsequently appeared before court.
Detective Inspector Kelly from the Police Service’s Organised Crime Branch said: “It’s clear the drugs and cash seized belonged to a criminal network which we now know has a large footprint across the UK and Ireland. Some of these drugs originated in England, while others were couriered from as far afield as Thailand.
“These drugs were destined for multiple criminal groups supplying onto the streets of Northern Ireland. Some of those arrested had onward travel booked to Dublin in an attempt to peddle their wares there.”
He said investigations were continuing into this wider criminal network: “Without doubt, there will be exploitation of individuals, whether in the production, supply or consumption of drugs.”
Det. Insp. Kelly said an officer involved in the investigation “sustained a serious injury effecting an arrest of a suspect who attempted to make off from police”. He said the officer is currently receiving ongoing medical attention.
Security sources said that the same gang, and other gangs, have also been targeting airports in the Republic of Ireland, resulting in significant seizures by Customs.
These sources are saying that the legalisation of cannabis in countries like Canada and Thailand has resulted in a substantial rise in trafficking of cannabis from those countries to states where it is not legal and where there is significant demand, such as Europe, including Ireland and Britain.
The latest drug operation follows a separate and ongoing Garda-PSNI investigation into a major Dutch-British gang supplying drugs through ports, north and south.
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 followed the interception of an estimated €8m worth of cannabis, cocaine and ketamine in Belfast a week ago.
In both occasions, 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 Irish man, with an address in Ballymun, north Dublin, who is known as a runner for a local gang. They are being held under Section 50 of Criminal Justice Act, 2007, at a Louth Garda Station.
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 (JATF).”
Commenting on it, 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.”
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