Gardaí 'trawl' through Kerry retailer files following crystal meth seizure

Officers from the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit are looking to identify any suspected illegal transactions, including any previous shipments from South America, linked to the company. Picture: Domnick Walsh

Detectives are “trawling” through documents and records seized from a large retail outlet in Kerry which was searched following a record seizure of crystal meth in Cork Port last Friday.

Officers from the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit are looking to identify any suspected illegal transactions, including any previous shipments from South America, linked to the company.

They are also examining any suspect exports involving the retail outlet to another country.

The investigation team is trying to establish how many times this drug trafficking route has been used and how long it has been operating.

Officers believe they have now “absolutely dismantled” this route and that the Mexican cartel suspected of being behind it — the Sinaloan cartel — will be forced to build up a new route as a result.

Gardaí are continuing to question two Irish men arrested last Friday after the searches in Ballymacelligott and Ballyseedy north east of Tralee and other locations, including in Cork and later in Waterford.

Officers obtained a further and final extension to their detention on Wednesday morning. This allows for 48 hours more in custody, meaning they will be released or charged on Friday at the latest.

Gardaí believe the half tonne of crystal meth seized at Ringaskiddy was due to be exported out of the country, to Australia.

While a value of almost €33m has been placed on the 546kgs, sources say that relates to Ireland, but that it would be worth many multiples of that in Australia given the high price it attracts there.

Investigators believe the haul was shipped to Ireland from South America inside machinery and that the Kerry-based gang stored it for a period, before “repacking” it for export.

Sources said this smuggling route was used by the Mexican cartel to “mask” the country of origin of the machinery.

The drugs seized at Cork Port last Friday. Picture: Garda/PA Wire

It would indicate to Customs authorities in the destination country that it was exported from Ireland, a relatively safe country in terms of risk profiling, compared to South America.

Gardaí believe the machinery, once in Ireland, may have moved between a couple of places, including the commercial complex in Kerry, and may have been here for some months.

“The people here are essentially facilitators,” a security source said. “They hold and move it and carry out the logistics.” 

Gardaí believe there are connections back to an Irish-Mexican citizen, who grew up in Kerry and later rose to prominence inside the Sinaloan cartel.

Sources point out that Mexican cartels have a “total understanding” of global trafficking logistics.

“This is about masking the country of origin,” one source said. “Ireland is not seen abroad as country where drugs are manufactured, or where there’s a firearms trade, so it may not attract as much attention by Customs in their risk profiling. This is an attempt to use Ireland as a staging post to export to other markets.” 

The source said: “The question is how many times has this happened in the past; how many years has it been in operation?” 

Kerry investigators are “trawling through” paper and digital documents and records belonging to the company whose offices were searched in a bid to identify any potential illegal activity.

This will include records of any suspect import or export shipments.

Sources said if there is “any sniff” of possible criminal assets that the Criminal Assets Bureau would be called in. Each division, including Kerry, has CAB-trained local asset profilers.

Sources point out that Australia is the “golden goose” given the high price of the crystal meth there.

As part of what is a sprawling investigation, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, which has been working with the Kerry unit, will contact the Garda liaison officer based in Colombia.

This officer will conduct inquiries with Mexican authorities.