Herbal cannabis with a street value of more than €13 million was seized yesterday afternoon following an investigation by the Revenue's Customs Service at Dublin Port.
More than a tonne of the drug was discovered in a six metre (20ft) container which originated in South Africa six weeks ago.
The drugs were packed into one kilo bags and concealed in the hollowed out sections of six granite lectern stands. Each lectern contained 170kg of cannabis. The consignment was bound for a destination in Dublin.
Customs enforcement officer Sean Brosnan said they were "thrilled" with the find which was the equivalent of six times the total amount of cannabis seized last year by customs officers.
The bags containing the drugs were coated in a heavy duty hand cleaner to put dogs off the scent and the granite lecterns were designed not to draw attention to the weight of the container.
Mr Brosnan said the discovery would not have been made without the services of the €3 million Customs mobile X-ray scanner which became operational last year. "The role of the X-ray scanner cannot be minimised because the scanner penetrated the granite and identified serious inconsistencies in the consignment that had the drugs in it.
"It's a tool that is absolutely vital to us in the fight against this kind of nefarious activity."
The container was singled out for inspection by the National Freight Intelligence Unit because South Africa is one of the countries that has been identified by customs officials as a prime location from where drugs are smuggled into Ireland.
The drugs were handed over to gardaí who are now investigating the seizure. However, none of the crew on the vessel, which has not been named for operational reasons, are suspected of involvement in the smuggling operation.
Separately, a man in his 20s was arrested following the discovery of a makeshift cannabis factory in a rented house in Co Leitrim on Monday night.
Gardaí found more than 100 cannabis plants in what they called a "very professional-type operation" capable of turning out a fresh crop every 10 weeks.
The seizure was made during a raid on the house in the village of Cloone, about 15 miles from Carrick-on-Shannon. The house had specialised plumbing, irrigation and transformers and a separate section was converted to dry the cannabis leaves. A file is now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Meanwhile, gardaí have found a small cannabis plantation in a privately-owned forest near Killarney, Co Kerry. A man was arrested but later released pending instructions from the DPP.
