Herbal cannabis worth about €370,000 seized by Revenue

Approximately 19kg of the drug discovered in vacuum-packed packages at Dublin Airport

A man in his 30s has been arrested and charged in relation to herbal cannabis seized at Dublin Airport on Friday.
A man in his 30s has been arrested and charged in relation to herbal cannabis seized at Dublin Airport on Friday.

Herbal cannabis worth about €373,000 was seized by Revenue at Dublin Airport on Friday.

Approximately 18.6kg of the drug was discovered in vacuum-packed packages within the baggage of a passenger who had disembarked a flight originating from Thailand.

A man in his 30s was subsequently arrested and charged.

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Revenue said the seizure was part of its ongoing operations targeting organised crime groups and the importation, sale and supply of illegal drugs.

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The seizure is the latest win for Revenue after contraband worth in excess of €7 million was seized by officers over the past fortnight in the course of numerous unrelated operations in Dublin, Athlone and Cork.

The seizures included 3.42 million cigarettes, with an estimated value of €2.9 million, at the port of Cork and 194.5kg of herbal cannabis, worth almost €3.9 million at Dublin Port.

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Revenue said the discoveries were made as a result of “risk profiling”.

The illicit cigarettes were detected with the assistance of detector dog Rua when Revenue officers stopped and searched an unaccompanied trailer which had arrived from Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter