The driver of an Irish-registered truck laden with drugs was still on the run yesterday, four days after ditching his vehicle by the side of a Belgian motorway.
Abandoned near the French border at the Flemish town of Kortrijk, the truck was found to contain drugs with a street value of more than €6 million.
A gang with a long history of drug-dealing in the Border area between the Republic and Northern Ireland is believed to be behind the shipment.
Garda sources indicated that the drugs were destined for lock-ups in counties Cavan, Monaghan and Meath for future distribution in Border counties.
Belgian authorities have confirmed that the haul included more than 580,000 ecstasy pills, 602,000 vials of liquid ecstasy, 104 kg of speed, 34 kg of heroin, and 260 kg of cannabis, hidden in the back of the refrigerated truck.
The Kortrijk justice department said no new discoveries had been made by the federal police, the Garda or Interpol, in their joint investigation.
Chief prosecutor for Kortrijk Mr Louis Denecker confirmed to The Irish Times last night that "nothing has happened here" since police came across the van last Friday.
"I have nothing to say. We are continuing to work with the Irish police and Interpol," he said.
Belgian police watched over the vehicle for two days waiting for the driver to come back, but he remains at large.
It is understood the driver hired the vehicle recently from a small haulage contractor firm based in Ireland. Belgian police said they had yet to confirm the driver was Irish. However, gardaí said they believed he came from the Border area.
The man is understood to have fled on foot. His truck was found abandoned with its driver's door open in a lay-by. Belgian officials believe the man took flight after seeing police conducting spot checks on the road.
Flemish authorities keep a strict watch on the stretch of road for immigrants trying to make their way into Britain. Gardaí and Belgian police believe the consignment was on route to Ireland from Amsterdam.
The find comes following a fresh clampdown against drug trafficking in Belgium with authorities in the northern Flemish half of the country claiming their regional capital, Antwerp, is becoming more attractive than Dutch destinations for drug tourists, particularly from France.
Until recently, many such individuals had travelled to Rotterdam but now they are able to purchase drugs at half the distance from the Belgian-French border, say the Antwerp police.
The trend has coincided with a marked increase in drug arrests in the city.
Between April and July alone this year, Antwerp police have uncovered and broken up 11 identified gangs.
A spokeswoman for the Garda said it was not in a position to comment on suggestions of the involvement of a Border gang in the shipment.
She confirmed, however, that they were co-operating with Belgian police in their investigation.