A conspiracy to smuggle cannabis from Spain to Ireland inside bags of animal feed has been uncovered as part of a policing operation led by the Spanish police and involving gardaí and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
As well as 13 arrests in Spain following raids in Madrid, Malaga and Seville, one man was arrested by An Garda Síochána in Co Louth.
The Irish Times understands the man was detained several months ago, when a significant amount of cannabis was seized. That operation was carried out by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and gardaí based in Co Louth.
Some of the suspects linked to the operation in Ireland, allegedly taking receipt of the drugs from Spain, have come to the attention of the Garda in the past for money laundering and involvement in the illicit cigarettes trade.
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The volume of drugs moved through the network’s smuggling routes, based on comments by Spain’s Policia Nacional, are valued at about €60 million.
Spanish police said that at their end of the operation, involving 12 searches, they also seized almost €100,000 in cash, 630 marijuana plants, a firearm and three detonators.
They also confiscated high-end vehicles and luxury watches and froze assets valued at about €2 million.
The international policing operation started in January, resulting in arrests in Ireland and Spain and the seizure of 300kg of herbal cannabis valued at almost €6 million.
Spanish authorities say herbal cannabis had been smuggled from Spain to Ireland and Britain since 2019. They said up to three tonnes of drugs have been shipped in monthly consignments over the past six years.
The Policia Nacional said on Thursday its operation with the Garda and NCA had “dismantled a criminal organisation that shipped marijuana to Ireland hidden in sacks of animal feed”.
The international inquiry began when the smuggling operation was discovered in January and involved suspects from Spain, Ireland and Britain, it said.
The herbal cannabis was hidden in the animal feed in Spain then transported to Ireland and Britain on pallets. International freight forwarders were used to arrange the logistics.
The 12 searches in Spain involved armed police officers breaking their way into properties, carrying out searches and arresting suspects. There were 10 searches in Malaga, one in Seville, both southern Spain, and another in the capital Madrid.
The Policia Nacional described the suspect arrested by the Garda in Co Louth as “another person belonging to the criminal structure”. when the arrest took place.
As well as a semi-automatic pistol found in one of the searches in Spain, three blank-calibre pistols were also discovered with 11 vehicles and six luxury watches valued at more than €200,000. Electronic devices were also taken for analysis.
