Five people have been arrested and heroin worth an estimated €10 million have been seized in Belgium during an operation against an international drugs ring suspected of importing drugs into Ireland.
The operation involved police in Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
A 36-year-old man was arrested yesterday in Dublin. He is being questioned at Clondalkin Garda Station under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act.
At least five houses were searched and over €40,000 in cash was recovered.
A Garda spokesman said the drugs, which were found in the Netherlands and are understood to have been destined for the Irish market, had an estimated street value of €10 million.
It is understood that two men flew out in a small private jet from Weston Aerodrome in Dublin early yesterday morning to Kortrijk-Wevelgem airport, in southern Belgium, where they were to collect another man.
Once he got on the plane with the 50 kilos (110lb) of heroin in his luggage, Belgian police moved in and arrested the two Irish nationals and a UK national and impounded the Irish-registered jet.
A senior Garda drugs officer described the haul as the largest ever seized in an Irish-led operation.
This afternoon the National Flight Centre, based at Weston Executive Airport, released a statement confirming that an aircraft operated by them is being held in Belgium.
According to the statement the plane was being used by an aircraft operator whose own was unserviceable.
The statement said: "The flight crew are employed by the National Flight Centre which is owned by Captain Kieran O'Connor. The aircraft is owned by Lonborough Aviation.
"The National Flight Centre is co-operating fully with the authorities both in Ireland and Belgium. We are unable to comment further as investigations are ongoing," it concluded