A DRUGS seizure at Shannon Airport yesterday has brought to more than £800,000 the value of drugs found by Customs and the Garda in the past two days.
The seizure of six suitcases full of khat was made at the airport at about 1 p.m. after two men were questioned by US immigration officials in the terminal.
The two Britons, aged in their late 20s, were on a flight from London to New York. Gardai said the men would appear in Kilkee District Court this morning on charges of possession and importation.
Kkat is a vegetable type substance which originates in Africa and is mainly grown in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia.
The US officials handed the men over to gardai at the airport who directed that their luggage be taken off the aircraft. The men were found to be travelling with 145 kilos of khat, wrapped in leaves to preserve its freshness. Its street value was estimated at £580,000.
In its original form khat is legal in Britain, although its extract is not. The plant is illegal in other European countries, including the Republic, and in the US.
It is chewed to obtain a "high" similar to that produced by amphetamines. It must be chewed within days of being harvested or the effect is lost.
The seizure at Shannon follows the discovery of almost £280,000 worth of cannabis resin and ecstasy in Wicklow at the weekend.
The cannabis resin, in two kilo blocks, was found in a rented cottage at the sea front in Wicklow town on Sunday night. It was estimated to have a street value of £250,000.
Follow up searches yesterday uncovered white powder, thought to be amphetamine, and about 2,000 tablets believed to contain heroin and ecstasy. The tablets are worth about £30,000.
Three local men were held after the Wick low seizures, but were released yesterday evening. A file is being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, gardai said.