SIX ARRESTED AFTER 22 KILOS OF HEROIN ARE SEIZED

A Dublin city drugs gang with links to criminal organisations in the north
of England is believed to have been behind the largest heroin haul seized in
the State.

Twenty-two kilograms of heroin were found in three vehicles which had
disembarked from car ferries in Dublin on Saturday. Six British nationals
were arrested, a number of whom are expected to be charged in the coming
days.

The haul was almost three times the amount of heroin seized by i the Garda
last year. It was the latest in a series of finds by gardai and customs
officers, including a IEP100 million cocaine seizure in Kinsale, Co Cork -
the largest such haul in the history of the State - and a IEP3.5 million
heroin seizure near Lusk, Co Dublin, both last month.

The Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) co-ordinated Saturday's operation with
intelligence assistance from police in Manchester, from where the drugs were
transported.

Det Supt Austin McNally of the GNDU said he believed the heroin was destined
for the Dublin market. "It's quite possible more arrests are imminent," he
added.

The operation began at 8.30 a.m. when gardai stopped an Audi car which had
just disembarked from a ferry at the North Wall. Some 3kg of heroin, 48kg of
cannabis resin and 5kg of amphetamines were found concealed in door panels.
A 52-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman were arrested.

Less than six hours later, four other people were arrested - two men, aged
31 and 32, and two women, aged 19 and 31 - disembarking from a car ferry in
Dun Laoghaire. Some 10kg of heroin was found concealed in one of their cars,
9kg in the other.

Five of the six people are from Manchester, one of them - a woman - from the
Isle of Man. They were all arrested under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice
Drugs Trafficking Act, 1996, which allows them to be held for up to seven
days.

Half are being questioned at Store Street station the other half at Dun
Laoghaire.

The total street value of the heroin is believed to be about IEP10 million,
depending on its purity. The other drugs are valued at about IEP500,000.

Det Supt Eddie Rock said the haul would have dealt a "serious blow" to the
drugs gangs involved.

The seizure, however, raises questions about whether the overall level of
heroin on the streets of the capital is rising or falling.

Gardai believe a number of small criminal gangs, previously involved in
non-drug-related activity, have recently moved into drug trafficking
following the break-up of larger gangs by Garda action.

The fact that the price of heroin remains at its lowest level in years
suggests there is no shortage of the drug on the streets. At around IEP7 a
quarter-gram, the drug costs only about one-fifth of what it did five years
ago.

i, more than the last four years put together.

The previous largest heroin seizure in the State was made last month when
seven kilos of heroin was found in north Dublin.

Det Supt Eddie Rock said it showed the GNDU was succeeding in dealing
"serious blows to criminal organisations".

Including Saturday's find, there have been nine major drugs seizures so far
this year which range in value from IEP2.7 million to over IEP100 million.

The total value of those seizures is estimated to be in excess of IEP134
million.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst