Gardaí have uncovered an international drug-dealing network which involved the importation of cocaine from South America via the postal system. Conor Lally, Crime Correspondent, reports.
Three men were under arrest last night after gardaí in Dublin moved in on gang members who had been under surveillance for a number of weeks.
Cocaine valued at €250,000, which had originated in Peru, was seized during the operation.
Gardaí first became aware that the postal route was being used to import the drugs when a parcel destined for Ireland was intercepted by the authorities in Belgium. It was examined and was found to contain cocaine.
The Belgians notified Revenue's Customs and Excise service and gardaí were informed. The parcel was allowed to continue via the postal system to its destination address at a postal box in Rathmines, south Dublin.
Local gardaí and members of the Garda National Drugs Unit put surveillance in place to arrest those collecting the drugs.
On Thursday, three men, two Nigerians and a Lithuanian national, arrived at the facility. The Nigerians remained outside while the Lithuanian man went inside to collect the parcel containing the drugs.
As he did so, gardaí moved in and arrested the three men. Parcels containing 3.5kg of cocaine were also seized.
The three men were being questioned last night at Terenure and Rathmines Garda stations.
They were being held under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act and can be detained for seven days without charge.
Gardaí were last night trying to establish if the route had been used before, and if so how often.
They believe the Lithuanian man had the most junior role in the enterprise. He is understood to have arrived in Ireland in the last fortnight, most likely for the specific purpose of collecting the drugs.
One of the Nigerian men has been in Ireland for a long period and had been served with a deportation notice. He has three addresses - one in Dublin's north inner city, another in north Dublin and a third in Meath.
Gardaí have yet to establish an address in Ireland for the other Nigerian national. The Garda National Immigration Bureau has joined the investigation in an effort to establish if the identities given by the men are genuine.
Detectives believe the drugs were sourced in Peru, where a kilo of cocaine can be acquired at the bulk wholesale price of €800.
The same quantity would have a street value of €80,000 in Ireland. Garda sources said the case represented the first time a foreign national gang made up of members from more that one country had been detected importing drugs into the State.
Meanwhile, a Polish man was in custody in Co Wexford last night after a car he was driving was found to contain cannabis valued at €46,000.
Some 3.8kg of the drug were found in the Polish-registered car as it disembarked the Normandy ferry from Cherbourg, France, at Rosslare yesterday. The seizure followed Customs profiling and risk-assessment. The man is being held at Wexford town Garda station.