€2m Gort cocaine seizure

A LARGE quantity of cocaine, which was intercepted in Gort this week after being smuggled through Shannon Airport, could have a street value of as much as €2 million, The Clare Champion has learned.

This is a significant strike by the authorities against those involved in the drugs scene in the West of Ireland.
The 7kg of cocaine seized in South Galway on Tuesday, originally valued in the region of €500,000, has been found to be “very pure” and could be worth closer to €2 million.
The drugs were seized when a high end vehicle was stopped and searched at Ballinger’s Corner in Gort at 9.30am in a joint operation by the National Drugs Unit, Galway gardaí and Revenue’s Customs Service.
The search was carried out as part of investigations into organised crime gangs in Galway and Limerick.
The drugs had been imported through Shannon Airport in a parcel originating in the United States.
The gardaí and customs set up a surveillance operation at the airport and when the couple picked up the parcel, gardaí monitored them before stopping their Audi 4×4 in Gort.
A 39-year-old man from Limerick and a 24-year-old woman were arrested and are being detained in Galway Garda Station. They can be held without charge for up to seven days.
On Tuesday afternoon, gardaí searched two houses in Moycullen, County Galway as part of a follow up operation and around €100,000 in cash was recovered in one of the houses.
A garda source described the seizure of the cash and drugs as “a significant ­detection against the ongoing drugs trade”.
Fine Gael’s Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Clare TD Pat Breen congratulated gardaí in Clare and Galway together with Customs officers involved in the operation.
“This is a major achievement for the gardaí in Clare and Galway and for the ­customs officials involved as I understand that the shipment came through Shannon Airport in a parcel which originated in the US.
“This multi-agency approach is the key to winning the battle against drugs gangs in this country.
“While today’s news is very good news in the battle against drugs, the reality is that this is probably only the tip of the iceberg. Drugs are destroying the lives of many people in this county and it is very important now that the gardaí and customs officials continue to be given the necessary resources so that they make further seizures and eliminate this scourge from our society,” he concluded.
According to gardaí, a seizure of €100,000 of heroin in Dublin’s South Inner City on Tuesday evening is unrelated.
In a separate operation last Friday, Clare customs officials seized 37,000 cigarettes and over 20kg of tobacco in Meelick.
The latest seizure, which was a part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the supply and sale of illegal cigarettes, has a potential retail value of €23,000 and a potential loss to the exchequer of around €20,000.
Officers executed a search warrant at a premises in the South-East Clare village and one man in his 50s was questioned. Revenue confirmed that an investigation is ongoing with a view to prosecution.
A confidential free phone number (1800 295 295) was introduced earlier this year for members of the public to provide Customs with any information they may have regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes.