Four men due to appear in court after €15m of cocaine seized in major operation

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Updated at 13:50

Four men are due to appear in court shortly as part of a Europol investigation to take down a major criminal communication platform called Ghost.

The infiltration of an encrypted communication tool led to the seizure of €15 million worth of cocaine and 11 arrests in Ireland.

Europol, along with law enforcement agencies from nine countries, dismantled the tool, described as “a lifeline” for serious organised crime.

An Garda Siochána said it was conducting Ghost-related investigations in relation to four identified organised crime groups in Ireland, involved in drug trafficking and money laundering “on a significant scale”.

The infiltration of the platform led to a series of searches carried out on Monday evening at 27 premises across Dublin and counties in the east of Ireland, involving 300 gardaí.

Representatives from Europol, the Australian Federal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were in Ireland for the operation.

Organised crime groups prey on the vulnerable, ravages lives and devastate entire communities - not just in Ireland but around the world.

We are determined that in the long run, crime does not pay.#KeepingPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/CldU9btqgr

— Garda Info (@gardainfo) September 18, 2024

As a result of the operation, and previous Garda activity related to Ghost, €15 million euro worth of cocaine, €230,000 of cannabis, and €100,000 euro of heroin has been seized by gardaí, along with €350,000 in cash.

Twenty-seven laptops, 42 suspected Ghost ECC encrypted devices, and 126 other mobile devices were among the other items seized.

Eleven arrests have also been made.

Speaking at a joint press conference on Wednesday, Europol executive director Catherine De Bolle said: “We have made it clear that no matter how hidden criminal networks think they are, they can’t evade our collective effort.”

Europol deputy executive director Jean-Philippe Lecouffe added: “This was truly a global game of cat and mouse, and today the game is up.”