The largest single amount of herbal cannabis yet found in the State has been seized in Dublin.
The find involved almost four tonnes of high-quality herbal cannabis with an approximate street value of £14 million. It was uncovered by Customs officers in Dublin Port yesterday morning.
The office of the Revenue Commissioners yesterday issued a statement saying a man had been arrested in connection with the haul. However, this has been denied by garda∅.
It is understood that another five tonnes of herbal cannabis may have passed through Dublin Port in recent months. The supply route is understood to be controlled by an Englishman who visited Dublin Port on a number of occasions earlier this year.
A Revenue spokesman said the 3,992 kg of drugs put on display yesterday had been hidden in a consignment of dried fruit.
The consignment had arrived from South Africa a few days ago in what has been described as a highly-organised operation.
"It's a very significant find of this particular drug," the spokesman said. "You wouldn't get amateurs with this volume. You simply wouldn't get amateurs involved at that level."
The drugs were hidden in a shipment of dried prunes inside a 40-foot metal container.
The herbal cannabis was contained in "scores" of cardboard boxes of various sizes, the spokesman said.
The cannabis was split up into packs wrapped in cellophane. Six two-kg packs of the narcotic were stashed at the bottom of each box.
The packs were covered up with the dried fruit.
Customs officers understand that a portion of the drugs were meant for the Irish market. The rest was destined for the UK.
The spokesman said the estimated street value of £14 million was a "conservative estimate". He said the haul could well be worth much more, depending on its level of purity.
Yesterday's seizure is the largest of a spate of recent significant hauls of cannabis at Dublin Port and Airport.
A revenue spokesman said the incidents, which involved supplies of cannabis coming from South Africa, could be linked.
Customs officers have seized more than 8.5 tonnes of herbal cannabis with a street value of more than £29 million since July of this year.
Personnel from the office of the Revenue Commissioners said the seizures and subsequent arrests were made as a result of combined intelligence and profiling techniques, in co-operation with garda∅. The operation is ongoing.
Herbal cannabis has a higher potency than cannabis resin, which is more common in the State.
In July, three tonnes of cannabis worth £11 million was discovered at Dublin Port.
The find was the result of a joint operation between the Garda National Drugs Unit and customs national drugs team.
The shipment, which originated in Durban, South Africa, was on its way to Britain.
Four men were subsequently arrested in Harlow in Essex.
Meanwhile, a Garda spokesman last night offered an explanation for the confusion between the Garda and Revenue's reporting of the incident.
He said a man was arrested in Dublin on Wednesday but the arrest was not related to the huge haul of herbal cannabis publicised by the Revenue yesterday.
The man was arrested by drug squad officers on Wednesday and is being held in custody. He can be detained for seven days under drug trafficking legislation.