AN IRISH gang was responsible for a massive drugs seizure in Portsmouth on Monday.
€50.5 million worth of cocaine was seized at the southern England port.
The discovery was made by the British National Crime Agency when they boarded a banana boat and found 300 kilograms of cocaine concealed on board.
The shipment had originated in Colombia.
According to senior Garda officials, the intention of the gang was intending to distribute the drugs between Ireland, Britain and Europe for the Christmas market.
The operation was a combination of efforts from the NCA and the Gardaí the investigation is ongoing.
The operation prevented “very high purity cocaine” from reaching the streets of Ireland and Britain, according to NCA deputy director Tom Dowdall.
This incident marked the second successful cooperative effort between the Gardaí and the NCA in recent months, as authorities clamp down on drug suppliers.
Deputy director Tom Dowdall, from the National Crime Agency’s Border Policing Command, said:
“Working with our law enforcement partners in the UK and Ireland we have successfully prevented a huge quantity of what is likely to be very high purity cocaine reaching our streets."
The latest drugs shipment comes just three months after a yacht was intercepted 300 miles off the south-western Irish coast, which resulted in a €82 million seizure of cocaine.
Garda resources believe both incidents came from the same supply chain.
