Irish police have seized more than €14 million worth of illegal drugs, primarily cocaine, in a major operation in the small town of Mountmellick, located in the country’s midlands. The raid, which targeted a commercial premises, resulted in the confiscation of 182kg of cocaine and 4kg of cannabis.
In addition, officers found another 17kg of drugs and €25,000 in cash in a vehicle in Dublin. The authorities also seized eight vehicles and various drug-related paraphernalia, all of which are now being examined by forensic analysts.
Three men have been arrested in connection with the bust and are currently being questioned under Ireland’s Drugs Trafficking Act.
“This intelligence-led operation conducted by the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) has taken down the main supply network for cocaine and crack cocaine into West Dublin,” said Paul Cleary, assistant commissioner for the police force’s Dublin Metropolitan Region. “This operation targeting the sourcing, preparation, and distribution of substantial quantities of these illicit drugs has prevented them from entering our communities, delivering another significant blow to an organised criminal group.”
The investigation is ongoing, and police are continuing to track down the network behind the drugs. The operation adds to the increasing efforts by Irish authorities to combat drug-related organized crime, particularly in light of several high-profile drug seizures in recent years.
Just hours before the details of this raid were made public, six men were arrested in connection with a 2.25-tonne cocaine shipment seized in Irish waters in September 2023. The cargo, worth an estimated €157 million, marked the largest cocaine haul ever intercepted in Ireland.
