
Gardaí seize €1.6m worth of cannabis in Co. Wexford
The 80kg of cannabis was discovered after gardaí intercepted and searched a van in Ballycarney on Friday.
A man in his 40s was arrested at the scene and is currently being detained at a garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.
Gardaí added that the man may be held for a period of up to seven days and that investigations are ongoing.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Sunday World
5 hours ago
- Sunday World
Suspect in €94m laundering probe is extradited from the US
Garda's seven-year Operation Skein has led to more than 630 arrests The operation has involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. Stock image: Getty The extradition from the US of a 44-year-old man who was remanded in custody in Dublin on Monday is the latest development in the gardaí's long-running Operation Skein. The operation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) has led to gardaí identifying 1,400 potential suspects involved in the theft and laundering of €94m. Gardaí said more than 630 people had been arrested as part of this operation and more than half of these had been charged with gangland offences as well as money laundering. In the latest case, the defendant – who has previous addresses in Clondalkin and Mallow, Co Cork – left Ireland for the states of Texas and Georgia in the US before being arrested by police ahead of his extradition to Ireland. The joint operation involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. He left Ireland after a book of evidence was served on him at Blanchardstown District Court in December 2018. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear at Dublin Circuit Court in July 2020 and an extradition warrant was later put in place, with investigations establishing he was living in the US. The defendant is charged with possessing €23,625, the proceeds of criminal conduct, and did not apply for bail at yesterday's brief court hearing in Dublin Circuit Court. The offence is alleged to have taken place at an unknown location within the Dublin Metropolitan District in March 2017 and allegedly concerns business email compromise fraud, known as BEC. According to the latest data obtained by the Irish Independent, out of the 1,400 suspects identified by Operation Skein, many used false identity documents to set up bank accounts. The majority of the suspects have been Irish and Nigerian nationals, but a significant number of Italian, British, Portuguese and Romanian nationals have also been identified. Of the 630 people arrested, 110 were arrested for organised-crime offences, with the rest being detained under money-laundering legislation. Around 70 of the suspects who have been arrested were juveniles and have been dealt with under the Garda Youth Diversion Programme and dealt with by special garda juvenile liaison officers (JLOs). To date, 24 of the suspects arrested for gangland-style offences have been charged before the courts and eight of these have pleaded guilty, with most receiving jail sentences. Dozens of money mules have mostly received suspended sentences after being convicted. Gardaí said in a statement that arrests had been made all over Ireland as part of the operation, which has been ongoing for seven years. There has been multiple extraditions from a wide variety of mostly EU countries as part of the investigation but the extradition of the 44-year-old is the first time a defendant has been brought back from the United States. Many international police forces have visited Ireland to study gardaí's pro-active approach to following the money trail and senior GNECB detectives have also travelled abroad to advise their counterparts. The operation has involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. Stock image: Getty News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29


Sunday World
9 hours ago
- Sunday World
Plumber jailed for ‘atrocious and appalling' attack on delivery driver in Wicklow
Leon Cooney (37), a plumber of Ardmore Drive, Herbert Road, Bray, Co Wicklow pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to the delivery driver A Bray man has been jailed for two years for beating up and robbing a delivery driver near his home during a violent drunken attack which a judge described as 'appalling and atrocious.' Leon Cooney (37), a plumber of Ardmore Drive, Herbert Road, Bray, Co Wicklow pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to the delivery driver on January 15, 2024 outside his home, contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. Cooney also pleaded guilty during a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court to a separate charge of robbing a mobile phone from his victim on the same occasion, contrary to Section 14 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001. Garda Stephen Farrell told the court that the defendant was highly intoxicated on the night and had physically attacked the delivery driver who suffered abrasions to his head, hands, knees and lower back. The court heard Cooney had assaulted his victim before the man managed to get away from him but pursued him again before physically attacking him a second time and then robbing a phone from his vehicle. Counsel for the DPP, James Kelly BL, said the victim had not wanted any further role in the proceedings and had not provided a victim impact statement. Judge John Martin said the accused had engaged in 'outrageous conduct' and described his offending as 'appalling and atrocious' for someone who had previously been a perfectly normal functioning member of society. The judge said he appreciated how terrifying it must have been for Cooney's victim who had not only suffered physical injuries but also the psychological impact of a prolonged, sustained attack. He said an aggravating factor in the case was that the victim's phone was never recovered. However, Judge Martin said mitigating factors were Cooney's early guilty plea, his genuine remorse and an offer of €2,500 which he had brought to court which had been accepted by the delivery driver. The judge said a custodial sentence could not be avoided given the circumstances of the case and the need to send out a message that such conduct is not acceptable. Judge Martin expressed concern that attacks on delivery drivers were becoming 'all too prevalent.' 'Such an unprovoked, unwarranted, savage attack cannot be tolerated,' he added. The judge sentenced Cooney to three years in prison for the conviction for assault causing harm but suspended the final 12 months for a period of two years on certain conditions. They include that the accused keeps the peace for two years after his release from prison and places himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for that period as well as a requirement to complete a course in anger management. Cooney had been remanded overnight in custody following a court appearance the previous day. At the start of the hearing, the defendant's counsel, Justin McQuade BL, told the court that Cooney had had a difficult night as it was his first time in a prison cell. Bray Courthouse, where Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court sits News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29


Irish Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Gun-running ring boss offered to 'throw in' free pipe-bombs in €75k rifle deal
A plumber identified as the boss of a gun-running ring told a prospective customer he would throw in 10 pipe bombs as a free gift to seal a €75,000 cash deal to supply guns and ammunition smuggled by air from America, a sentencing court has heard. Mark McCourt (34), of Edenrieve, Newry, Co Down, appeared before the Special Criminal Court yesterday, after pleading guilty last week to firearms offences and participating in a criminal organisation's efforts to import restricted weapons. A senior garda said in evidence to the three-judge court that he was 'fully satisfied' that there was a criminal organisation in existence under the 'control and direction' of McCourt 'whose function was the importation of firearms components from the USA to Ireland, and the reassembly of these restricted firearms for onward distribution to other criminal organisations'. Detective Inspector Shane McCartan of the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, who led an investigation into the gang's activities last year, said a firearms technician had been able to assemble 82 gun parts seized in a raid on a property in Co Louth last year into six assault rifles and a dozen pistols. Det. Insp. McCartan said McCourt had already been identified in connection with the suspected importation of firearms when the defendant was arrested for something else on May 24, 2024, and had his phone seized. Gardaí were able to extract data from the phone shedding light on the activities of the smuggling ring in the preceding year, along with conversations with prospective customers in messages on Signal, WhatsApp and Snapchat, the witness said. Det. Insp. McCartan said McCourt and his co-accused both flew to Las Vegas, Nevada on three occasions in April and May 2023. Mark McCourt appeared before the Special Criminal Court on Monday (Image: Collins) On April that year, following their return from the trip, McCourt told one prospective customer -- who used the alias 'The Keeler' – 'we got sorted this evening' and that it would take a few hours to 'stick them all together', the court was told. 'So get the cash ready lol,' McCourt added, before telling The Keeler to 'get another phone' as a 'burner'. In further text exchanges with The Keeler, McCourt wrote: '€75k cash is [the] best price' and that he had 'another man there for them today'. He said the receiver of the firearms would need 'a dry place like a hot press or that' as a 'stash spot'. 'If they get damp, they won't fire, that's why you see boys there and they're misfiring, because the powder is damp,' McCourt wrote. He then added: 'Tell them 75k and I'll throw in the 10 pipes for free.' Det. Insp. McCartan said: 'It's my belief that refers to pipe bombs.' He said one of a number of videos found on Mr McCourts phone, which were screened in court on Monday, had captured a serial number on an AR-15 rifle made by Anderson Defence traced to a sale on 10 February 2023 at a shop called Parumph Guns and Ammo near Las Vegas. 'It was purchased by the co-accused on 10 February 2023,' the witness said. As the videos were screened for the court, Det Insp McCartan said that what was being shown were 'AR-15 assault rifles, military grade' and their magazines, including one 'drum magazine' which could hold upwards of 50 bullets. A 'significant quantity' of loose rounds was also to be observed, he said. When a detective held up an example of one of the seized rifles in court, the detective inspector said: 'Judge, it should be noted that all of the firearms had their serial numbers bored off.' Video and texts from McCourt's phone were shown in court Prosecuting counsel Simon Matthews BL, said that after another trip to Las Vegas in May 2023, a text from McCourt's phone to a prospective buyer under the alias 'Vladimir Putin' said: 'I can get an AR-15… she'll drop a deer at 900 yards, no problem.' 'Vladimir Putin' then asked about buying a '7.62 sniper' – and about the source of the weapons. 'We ram raid the place across the water,' McCourt replied, adding: 'Yeah mate, don't know, but I can get a price. In another exchange stored on the seized phone, another prospective customer under the alias 'Duff' asked: 'Sweet bro, and if I need another AR [assault rifle] how soon can I get it?' 'That'll be next month… but they're definitely there to be got,' came the reply by voice note, which was played to the court. Defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC said that while the videos and pictures 'were seized from his phone' the prosecution was not able to state that Mr McCourt had recorded them. Det Gda McCartan said he and his team had 'a serious concern' in late June and early July 2024 that the gang would import another load of weapons and sell them on. The court heard gardaí commenced a surveillance operation and obtained warrants for a shed and lands at Blackstaff, Ardee, Co Louth. McCourt and another member of the gang were arrested when Bureau detectives and armed officers from the Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU) raided the premises on July 19, 2024. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week The 82 firearms parts were found 'all in the one suitcase' in the shed, along with nearly 900 rounds of pistol and rifle ammunition found in a Dunnes Stores bag on a sofa there, the witness said. Det Insp McCartan told the court the defendant has some 42 previous convictions including assault causing harm, theft, and dangerous driving 'on the high end'. He said McCourt and was jailed for three years, with 18 months suspended, on foot of a conviction for a criminal damage incident in which he had gone to the home address of an off-duty garda at 2.55am and 'rammed' her car. He agreed with Mr Grehan that this period of offending was when the McCourt was aged between 19 and 22. Mr Grehan presented the court with letters from local businesses which had used his client as a plumbing subcontractor and stated that they found him 'courteous and professional'. He said his client was the father of two children, and that his fiancée and her mother were 'standing by him'. Asking for 'the maximum mitigation allowable', Mr Grehan said he had been 'asked to tender an apology on his behalf to the court and the State for getting involved in these matters, and also to his family and the shame he's brought to them for this'. The State is to make further submissions on the gravity of the offending when the case is heard again on Thursday. However, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor, presiding, said the court would not be in a position to finalise sentence until a later date. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.