5 arrested after major garda sting

Five people were arrested in relation to an alleged drug smuggling operation off the West Cork coast last year.

Five individuals with ages ranging from 20s to 60s were arrested when gardaí swooped on a number of locations across the country on Tuesday.

Last March, 840kg of cocaine was found washed up on beaches in Denmark worth more than €58 million. It is thought that this was part of a drugs haul intended to be landed in Ireland, possibly in West Cork.

Nothing was landed in Cork last March but the three men and two women were arrested for alleged offence contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006 and continue to be detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at garda stations in the Dublin region and the eastern region.

Gardaí from the Cork county crime section, Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and the Wexford/ Wicklow crime section conducted searches at a number of locations across the country on Tuesday.

10 men were arrested last March in relation to the alleged operation.