Gardaí uncover suspected drugs hub with €6.9m cannabis find in Kilkenny

Gardaí believe a business premises where cannabis valued at €6.9 million was discovered in Co Kilkenny was established as a drugs-distribution hub.

The set-up of the operation was similar to that used by the Kinahan cartel in Dublin and Kildare five-and-a-half years ago when gardaí discovered a front business in an industrial unit was a hub for the cartel’s firearms and money-laundering activities.

Links to the Kinahan cartel are also being investigated in the latest case in Co Kilkenny that came to light on Monday night.

If cartel involvement or supply is confirmed, as is suspected, the operation would be the first major drugs find in the Republic for a prolonged period linked to the cartel.

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Gardaí believe the business premises where the drugs were found had been rented, without the knowledge of its owners, by people involved in drugs distribution who were claiming to operate a legitimate company from the unit.

When gardaí raided the premises in Ballyhale, Co Kilkenny, they discovered cannabis with an estimated street value of €6.9 million. It is understood the drugs had just been imported into the Republic and were likely set to be distributed to criminals in the Republic and United Kingdom.

Two men were arrested when the premises in Ballyhale was searched on Monday by a team of gardaí and Revenue’s Customs officers.

The suspects, who are in their 30s and 40s, were detained on suspicion of drugs trafficking and are being detained at Kilkenny Garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act. The arrested men are originally from Britain.

When gardaí raided the premises, parcels of cannabis were vacuum packed and stacked in large cardboard boxes, ready for distribution.

The operation was carried out by gardaí from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, assisted by Revenue’s Customs Service and gardaí from the Eastern Region.

Garda sources told The Irish Times they believed the drugs had been supplied by the Kinahan cartel. The men arrested, both foreign nationals, have links to the drugs trade in the UK. Gardaí are trying to establish if they set up a company in Ireland in recent months specifically to be used as a front for taking receipt of imported consignments of drugs for distribution under the guise of transporting food products.

The involvement of the Kinahan cartel in supplying the seized €6.9 million cannabis haul is significant as the cartel’s Irish-based unit, the Byrne organised crime group, has effectively been wiped out. Many of its key members have been imprisoned for crimes linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud while others have fled abroad.

As the cartel came under increasing pressure in recent years, and its main representation in Ireland was effectively put out of business, it scaled back its operations in the State. Monday’s drug seizure appears to represent the first clear evidence that it was now continuing with its efforts to supply drugs to the Irish market, which is regarded as very lucrative because of strong demand for drugs and high disposable incomes.