Heroin worth €8m seized after gardaí intercept aircraft
Gardaí seized heroin, with an estimated street value in excess of €8m, and a light aircraft during today's operation. Picture: An Garda Síochána
Heroin worth more than €8m has been seized following the interception of a light aircraft and a vehicle in the east of the country.
It is the third time in under two years that gardaí have intercepted private light aircraft here which they believe were involved in international drug smuggling operations.
On Friday morning, GNDOCB officers and officials from the Revenue Customs Service who are engaged in ongoing joint investigations targeting transnational organised crime, swooped on Weston Airport in south county Dublin, but stopped a vehicle in county Kildare a short time later.
A garda spokesman said the operation led to the seizure of diamorphine, or heroin, with an estimated street value in excess of €8m.
It is the largest heroin seizure so far this year.
The light aircraft has also been seized and gardaí are now tracing its flightpath.
Two men, one aged in his 40s and the other aged in his 60s, were arrested on suspicion of organised crime activity.
They were taken to a garda station in County Kildare where they are being detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006.
They can be held for up to seven days. A garda spokesman said investigations are ongoing.
Assistant Commissioner Organised and Serious Crime, Justin Kelly said today's seizure was hugely significant.
"The importance of disrupting criminal networks supplying this type of drug into our communities has been reinforced by the recent wave of overdoses in Dublin city centre," he said.
"Worldwide, law enforcement agencies are seeing an increasing use of general aviation (non-commercial flights) to smuggle drugs."
He commended those involved in the complex multi-agency operation which included the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC-N) in Lisbon, Portugal.
In February 2022, a light aircraft was used to smuggle 50kg of cocaine, worth €3.5m, into the UK.
After delivering the drugs, it flew to Waterford, where it was met by gardaí. Three men were arrested and the aircraft was seized.
In August 2022, members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) tracked a Cessna aircraft as it travelled from France and landed at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, a small private airfield, where the pilot and another man unloaded eight holdalls containing 120kg of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €8.4 million, which was then put into two vehicles.
In a separate operation, herbal cannabis worth around €900,000 was seized at Dublin Port.
The 45kg of drugs was found in a pallet containing parcels within a fridge unit that had come from Belgium.
Revenue officers, with the help of Gardaí and detector dog Waffle, discovered the drugs this morning.
Investigations into both seizures are ongoing.
