5 of the Biggest Drug Busts in Ireland’s History
The authorities have been very busy.
The new Netflix Original Series Narcos, which is available exclusively on Netflix right now, tells the story of the rise and fall of Colombia drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
It's as action-packed and tense a series as you're going to see anywhere this year, watch the trailer here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7elNhHwgBU
Escobar made his fortune by smuggling cocaine in the 80s and 90s, so we decided to peer a little closer to home and look back on some of the biggest drug busts here in Ireland.
Here's a rundown on five of the biggest and most notorious busts in recent times.
Location: Mizen Head, Cork
Year: 2008
Drug: Cocaine
Street Value: €400 million
Irish naval officers intercepted the yacht called Dances With Waves in the middle of a gale force 7 storm in what was one of the biggest busts in Irish history.
Location: Off the Cork coast
Year: 2014
Drug: Cocaine
Street Value: €290 million
A luxury yacht called Makayabella was intercepted after crossing the Atlantic from Caribbean with around a tonne of cocaine on board.
Location: Dublin Port
Year: 2002
Drug: Cannabis
Street Value: €15 million
Six tonnes of herbal cannabis was found by Customs and Excise officers in a shipping container full of garden furniture.
Location: Clondalkin, Dublin
Year: 2006
Drug: Heroin
Street Value: €11 million
Gardaí raided an apartment in the west Dublin suburb and uncovered 54kg of Heroin which is the biggest seizure in the history of the state.
Location: Dunlough Bay, Cork
Year: 2007
Drug: Cocaine
Street Value: €440 million
The biggest haul in history was a shambles for the smugglers who overloaded a small boat they were using to bring the drugs ashore.
They also accidentally filled a spare fuel tank with diesel instead of petrol.
The boat wouldn't start after a re-fueling and it capsized into the sea leaving bales of cocaine floating around the bay.
The biggest hauls in the history of the state involved cocaine that originated in Colombia so Pablo Escobar's legacy continues. Find out how Escobar built his cocaine empire in the new Netflix Original Series Narcos.
All episodes of Narcos are available instantly on Netflix. Sign up to Netflix.com now to watch Narcos and try one month free.
