Two men arrested after cannabis worth €3.2m seized in Co Louth

Detectives find drug among load of vegetables after searching haulage vehicle near Dundalk

Two men have been arrested following the seizure of herbal cannabis worth an estimated €3.2 million in Co Louth. Photograph: An Garda Síochána.
Two men have been arrested following the seizure of herbal cannabis worth an estimated €3.2 million in Co Louth. Photograph: An Garda Síochána.

Two men have been arrested following the seizure of herbal cannabis worth an estimated €3.2 million in Co Louth.

Officers attached to the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau uncovered the haul when they intercepted and searched a commercial haulage vehicle in Ballymascanlon, Dundalk on Tuesday.

The cannabis was concealed within a load of fresh vegetables.

Two men aged 57 and 42 years from Britain and Northern Ireland were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and taken to Dundalk Garda station. They are being held under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

Gardaí said the operation was part of ongoing joint investigations being conducted by the bureau and the UK's National Crime Agency under the auspices of the Cross Border Joint Agency Task Force targeting cross-border criminal activity.

Assistant Garda commissioner John O’Driscoll said the seizure was “very significant”, describing it as “yet another success” arising from ongoing cooperation with the UK authorities.

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Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter