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Two men arrested as heroin worth €8m seized after light aircraft and car intercepted

‘Diamorphine (heroin) with an estimated street value in excess of €8 million was recovered this morning’

The light airplane and drugs seized at Weston Airport

Weston Airport

Neil Fetherstonhaugh

Two men have been arrested after gardai seized heroin worth €8 million when a light aircraft and a car were intercepted in South County Dublin and Co Kildare.

The 60kg of vacuum-packed heroin found in holdalls in the light aircraft at Weston Airport is the largest seizure of the drug this year.

The drugs were discovered as part of an ongoing joint investigation conducted by officers with the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and the Revenue Customs Service targeting transnational organised crime.

According to RTE, detectives say the drugs were sourced by a family-based west Dublin gang with links to the Kinahan Organised Crime Group which had been under surveillance.

The drug haul that was intended for distribution in Dublin and around the country was seized at around midday.

Weston Airport

“Diamorphine (heroin) with an estimated street value in excess of €8 million was recovered this morning Friday, 1st December 2023, following the interception of a light aircraft and a vehicle in South County Dublin and County Kildare,” gardai said.

“Two males (aged in their 40s and 60s) have been arrested on suspicion of organised crime activity and are currently detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, at a Garda station in County Kildare.

“Investigations are ongoing at this time.”


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