A senior garda has said the seizure of more than €12 million worth of cocaine in Co Cork yesterday is indicative of “the nature of the drug market”.
The drugs were discovered at Ringaskiddy Port following a search of containers that arrived on a vessel from Central America.
Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who is head of the Garda Organised and Serious Crime unit, said: “This is just one example of successful intervention, made in this case in Ireland.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said it shows the routes that are opened up between the Americas and Europe.
Asst Comm O’Driscoll said that through a combination of international cooperation, management of intelligence, and the “state of the art” equipment available to the Revenue Commissioners’ Customs service, this sort of success can be achieved.
“We work closely with our counterparts in law enforcement entities in Europe and wider afield for the purpose of tackling this level of drug trafficking.”
Asked if the drugs were intended for the Irish market, Asst Comm O’Driscoll said there is potential when an amount of drugs of this nature lands in this jurisdiction that it could be distributed further afield, including to the UK.
He said yesterday’s intervention is one example of the trade operation between Central America and Europe and referred to the largest seizure of cocaine one year ago by authorities in Costa Rica, which he said was valued at around €26m.
“On a growing basis the volume of intermodal transportation networks used for large volume shipments is a significant factor in the drugs market so looking for a container amid the vast quantity of containers at any port is a difficult task,” he added.
Asst Comm O’Driscoll said the cocaine market is valued at just over €9 billion in Europe, according to the Europol police agency, and “there are an estimated four million users of cocaine”.
He said 2017 findings from Europol show there were more than 8,000 deaths in Europe arising from drug use that year.
Asst Comm O’Driscoll said it shows the importance of removing this product from the market and preventing organised crime groups from accruing vast amounts of money.
He said that An Garda Síochána and Customs continue to pursue the money trail and have, this year, had record seizures of both money and drugs.
A senior garda, Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, has said the seizure of more than €12 million worth of cocaine in Co Cork yesterday is indicative of “the nature of the drug market”.
