In Ireland, the police arrested two Dutch nationals last week in connection with large-scale imports of cocaine by sea. According to Irish media, a total of ten men with Spanish, Irish and possibly Serbian nationality have been arrested. Police responded to Skibbereen in West Cork on Thursday.
Divers
On Friday, Irish Navy divers searched off the coast near the village of Leap for a large stash of cocaine that was allegedly dumped into the sea.
Police suspect that the suspects were on their way to land cocaine in a reinforced inflatable boat with powerful outdoor killing engines. They were traveling with a camper and a car. Nearby was a truck combination where the drugs should probably have been transported. The inflatable boat was hidden in the truck.
At the time of the arrest, the group appeared to be on their way to the beach at Leap. At that point, they had been under police surveillance for some time.
Bad weather
The Irish police probably had information that drugs would be landed last week.
The smugglers’ operation at sea was probably hampered by the bad weather.
The police have not yet reported that any drugs have been seized. But the media is talking about a shipment of 1.5 to 2 tons of cocaine. The cocaine was probably transported by freighter from South America to the Irish coast.
Also see:
‘More and more cocaine smuggled via Irish coast’
Four suspects in custody for Irish mega transport
Irish soldiers board cargo ship from Curaçao: 2.2 tons of cocaine seized (UPDATE VIDEO)
Gardaà believe they have dismantled an international drug smuggling logistics operation, whose members could have been attempting to land up to €1bn worth of cocaine on the West Cork coasthttps://t.co/wHAZJGJd9v
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) March 16, 2024
