In a major breakthrough against cross-border drug trafficking, Irish law enforcement and revenue officials have seized a massive shipment of illegal cannabis worth an estimated €2.9 million (£2.5 million) at a key southern Irish port. The bust unfolded Thursday at Rosslare Europort, located in County Wexford, after the contraband arrived aboard a cross-Channel ferry originating from Dunkirk, France.
Officers from the Irish Revenue Commissioners stopped the sealed freight unit for inspection as part of ongoing anti-smuggling work. A mobile X-ray scanning device picked up anomalies hidden within the unit’s legitimate cargo, leading to the recovery of approximately 145 kilograms of suspected herbal cannabis and an additional 7.9 kilograms of compressed cannabis resin.
The operation, which grew out of routine intelligence-led profiling of incoming freight, has resulted in the arrest of a man in his 20s, who remains in police custody at an Irish station as investigations continue. An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police service, confirmed the details of the seizure in an official statement following the bust.
Authorities emphasized that the large-scale seizure is part of a sustained, coordinated campaign targeting transnational organized criminal networks that profit from the illegal importation, distribution, and sale of controlled substances across Ireland. Officials have published an official photograph of the seized drug haul to highlight the scale of the operation, part of ongoing efforts to disrupt illegal drug supply chains before they reach domestic communities.