Gang who smuggled €60m of cannabis into Ireland and Britain ‘dismantled', say Spanish police
As well as 13 arrests in Spain following raids in Madrid, Malaga and Seville, one man was detained by
An Garda Síochána
in Co Louth.
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.
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They also confiscated high-end vehicles and luxury watches and froze assets valued at about €2 million.
Spanish police say they've carried out raids, arrested 13 people (video) re smuggling of cannabis to Ireland, since 2019, inside bags of animal feed
Also one arrest in Ireland - Co Louth
In Spain, crops of cannabis have been found, a gun, cash, assets seized etc
— Conor Lally (@conormlally)
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'. It was unclear 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.
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