A half a tonne of crystal meth seized in Cork could have sold on the streets of its reported destination of Australia for more than £200 million, according to the estimated value placed on the drug by the country’s federal police.
Gardai valued the 546kg discovered on a container ship following a joint operation with Revenue’s Customs Service at approximately €32.8m, or just under £30m.
But the shipment, believed organised by the Mexican Sinaloa cartel with Irish connections, was reportedly bound ultimately for Australia, where the price is vastly greater due to the country’s isolation, lack of a land border and difficulty sourcing core ingredients.
Australian Federal Police estimated the value of 100kg of the same drug seized in January at A$90m, just over £45m. This would put the value of the meth discovered in Cork at approximately £240m if sold on the streets of Australia.
Gardai said the €31.8m is the estimated street value in Ireland.
Two men in their 40s were still being questioned on Sunday in connection with the seizure following the search of the container ship in Cork port.
It is believed the meth originated in Colombia but that the shipment was organised by members of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, including Morris O’Shea Salazar, who grew up in Killorglin, Co Kerry.
The Sinaloa cartel was once headed by Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, currently serving a life sentence in the United States.
One of the men being questioned is reported to have previous convictions for assault while the other is described as a businessman. They can be held for seven days in total and their time in custody was extended by 24 hours on Sunday.
Searches were carried out over the weekend at properties in Kerry and Cork, with the Sunday World reporting the Defence Forces were involved in one operation at a premises in Tralee.
In a separate operation on Friday, cannabis and cocaine worth an estimated €6.4m was seized at Rosslare Europort by Revenue investigators.
One man, aged in is 40s, was still being questioned on Sunday in connection with more than a quarter tonne of herbal cannabis, 72.8kg of cannabis resin and 3.3kg of cocaine.
According to multiple reports, Ireland was a staging point for the crystal meth, which was destined for the highly lucrative and in-demand Australian market.
In a statement, the Garda said the joint operation with Revenue led to the seizure of of 546kg “of a synthetic drug, suspected to be crystal meth”.
“Officers from the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit, Cork, and a number of other units were involved in the operation,” a Garda spokesperson said.
“Follow-up searches were conducted in Kerry and Cork which resulted in the arrests of two men and the seizure of two firearms. The men, both aged in their 40s, are currently detained at Garda stations. Investigations are ongoing.”
Revenue added: “This seizure is part of Revenue’s ongoing joint investigations involving organised crime groups and the importation, sale and supply of illegal drugs.
“If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding drug smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on phone number 1800 295 295.”
