Three Irish men were among five people under arrest in Holland, Belgium and Ireland last night after an Irish-registered private jet was impounded in Belgium as it was about to leave for Ireland with heroin worth €10 million on board.
Dublin businessman Jim Mansfield has confirmed he owns the plane at the centre of the case.
Garda sources in Dublin described the smuggling plan as "incredible" and "unprecedented". The drugs were destined for west Dublin dealers.
Detectives believe an Irish man involved in the leasing of planes at Weston airport, Leixlip, Co Kildare, had arranged for the plane to be used to transport the drugs.
The plane left Weston on Tuesday morning and flew to Wevelgem airport in southern Belgium. It was manned by two Irish pilots and was due to collect a passenger at Wevelgem and fly him back to Weston late on Tuesday.
However, as this man boarded the plane with his luggage the Belgian authorities moved in. A search revealed 50kgs of heroin, worth €10 million, packed into his cases.
The man, a 32-year-old from the Leeds-Bradford area, was arrested along with the two Irish pilots. The plane was also impounded. One of the pilots is a 38-year-old Dublin man who was caught in Britain in the late 1990s with a large quantity of cannabis.
As part of Tuesday's operation a 49-year-old man, originally from Scotland, was arrested in Holland. He is believed to have sourced the drugs and arranged for their transportation to Belgium.
In Ireland a 36-year-old Irish man was arrested on Tuesday evening at Weston where he works. He is a qualified pilot and has an address in Kilmessan, Co Meath.
Garda sources said he is closely associated with Irish drugs wholesalers. He is a former international boxer. He previously worked as a nightclub bouncer and is now a director of a plane hire company based at Weston which was using Jim Mansfield's plane at the time the drugs were found.
The arrested man was being questioned at Clondalkin Garda station last night. The Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) has reopened an old investigation into the origin of his assets, including a plane and some properties.
The National Flight Centre, which is based at Weston, released a statement last night confirming it operates the plane impounded in Belgium.
The statement said the crew is employed by the National Flight Centre, "which is owned by Captain Kieran O'Connor". The plane involved is a Cessna Citation VI executive jet owned by Mr Mansfield through Lonborough Aviation. Mr Mansfield also owns Weston airport.
It was being used on Tuesday by another plane-hire company because its own aircraft was unserviceable. The 36-year-old man arrested in Dublin is a director of this firm.
A spokesman said Mr Mansfield was "shocked" by the developments. He said Mr Mansfield was not aware his plane had been taken out of the country.
Tony Gregory TD (Ind) and Catherine Murphy TD (Ind) both said the case highlighted the lax customs checks at small airports like Weston. Ms Murphy said customs officers had operated at Weston, part of which is in her Kildare North constituency, for just 16 days last year.
The arrests in Belgium and Holland took place after the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) provided intelligence to the authorities in both countries. GNDU and Cab searched seven premises in west Dublin, Kildare, Meath and north county Dublin on Tuesday. Around €38,000 in cash was found.
