Customs and Excise officers and gardai will continue their search of a catamaran in Kinsale this morning after the discovery of 160 kilos of cocaine with an estimated value of £13 million on board the vessel yesterday.
The seizure is the second largest haul of the drug made in the State and comes within 48 hours of gardai seizing £3.5 million worth of heroin in north Co Dublin.
It is believed today's search will uncover more drugs on the vessel.
Two men, including an Irishman in his early 50s, were arrested following the seizure and were being questioned by members of the Cork Drugs Squad in Bandon Garda Station under Section 15 of Criminal Justice Drugs Trafficking Act 1996.
Yesterday's seizure followed a surveillance operation by members of the Customs and Excise National Drugs Unit who, backed up by gardai, monitored the arrival of the Spanish-registered Gemeos in Kinsale on Tuesday afternoon. Gardai boarded the vessel at Pier Road on Thursday evening and arrested the two men under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act when they found a pistol on board and took them to Bandon station for questioning.
Customs "rummaging experts" backed up by Cork Drugs Squad detectives began a detailed search of the 40-ft vessel and found the 160 kilos of cocaine packed in one kilo-bags concealed under the bunks in the boat's sleeping compartments. According to Mr Brendan Mulcahy, of the Customs and Excise's national drugs team, the "expertly concealed" cocaine was found after a two-hour search in two stashes of 80 kilos under two bunks.
The two men were released by gardai at lunchtime yesterday and immediately rearrested at Bandon station under Section 15 of the Criminal Justice Drugs Act, which allows suspect to be held for up to seven days for questioning.
The Irishman who was arrested is from Dublin but has been living in the Canaries for a number of years. The second man, who is in his late 30s, is English but has been living recently in the Caribbean.
Gardai believe the drugs originated in South America, probably in Colombia. Although Garda forensic laboratory experts were still analysing samples of the cocaine last night, it is believed to be of a very high purity.
Gardai believe the drugs were being brought to Ireland by a major international drugs gang for trans-shipment to Britain. A small quantity may have been destined for Irish dealers trying to cultivate and expand the market for cocaine here.
Customs and Excise officers confiscated the catamaran and brought it to a local boatyard in Kinsale, where they continued their search of the vessel last night.
Yesterday's seizure is the third by members of the Customs and Excise's National Drugs Unit in the past 24 hours. The Kinsale seizure is the biggest of cocaine since the discovery of 600 kilos of the drug with a street value of around £47 million aboard the converted trawler, Sea Mist, in Cork Harbour in September 1996.
In the same month, the authorities seized 50 kilos of cocaine on a ship called Front Guider which docked in Moneypoint, Co Clare.
Also yesterday, Customs officers seized one kilo of cocaine with an estimated street value of £80,000 when they stopped a passenger coming off a ferry in Co Wexford. A 29-year-old woman was arrested in connection with the incident.
On Thursday gardai announced the discovery of seven kilos of heroin on farm property between Balbriggan and Lusk in Co Dublin, the largest seizure of the drug in the history of the State. A Dublin criminal gang is believed to have been behind the haul. The heroin was actually found last month and a surveillance operation put in place, leading to the arrests of six men and two women.
The seizure was kept from the media because gardai were anxious to locate one of the ringleaders they believe was involved in the drug deal, who was out of the State at the time the haul was discovered. He was arrested by gardai when he returned to Dublin last Wednesday.
On Thursday Customs officers seized eight kilos of herbal cannabis valued at £16,000 in Dublin Airport.
The Gardai National Drugs Unit has had a remarkable run of drugs seizures this year. A survey reported to the media so far this year shows there have been seven major seizures where the amounts of drugs concerned ranged from £2.7 million to £5 million. The total value of those seizures was around £24.3 million, according to figures supplied by the Garda Siochana or Customs.
There were a further 27 seizures reported of amounts ranging in value from £50,000 to £750,000 and those had a total value of £6.3 million. Added to yesterday's seizure in Kinsale valued at £13 million, this would put the amount of illegal drugs captured so far this year at a minimum - using Garda and Customs' estimates - of £43.6 million.
The seizures include the £3.5 million worth of heroin captured near Lusk earlier this week; £2.5 million worth of cannabis found in Meath on July 25th; £3 million worth of cannabis found in Dublin on May 7th; £4 million worth of cannabis and ecstasy found in Louth on April 10th; £2.5 million worth of amphetamine and cocaine seized in Meath on April 6th; £5 million worth of amphetamine seized in Meath in February; and £4 million worth of cannabis found in Tipperary also in February.