Two Dublin Airport workers are being questioned on suspicion of drug trafficking after gardaí seized more than €1 million worth of cocaine.
The drug bust was made at the airport yesterday after a man disembarked from a flight traveling from Brazil via Germany to Ireland.
Obviously Gardaí dove on the suspects when the drug shipment was picked up in a toilet after being transported into the country.
The Irish independent has been informed that two of the men in custody are Dublin Airport employees employed through an outside contractor.
The DAA confirmed that none of its employees were involved in the incident.
A third man arrested is the person who flew to Dublin. He is considered a Brazilian citizen.
The suspects are currently being held at Blanchardstown and Coolock Garda stations in the capital.
They are detained under section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 and can be interrogated for up to seven days.
After the detention period has expired, they must either be charged or released pending a file with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
A Garda spokesperson said: “The seizure was made as a result of a joint operation carried out by the Garda National Drugs and Organized Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), the tax authority of the Internal Revenue Service. Assistance was also provided by law enforcement agencies in Germany and South America.”
The spokesperson added that the investigation is ongoing.
Detectives are trying to determine whether the drugs are related to the Kinahan cartel or another major Irish crime group.
They will also try to determine how long the suspected smuggling ring has been active.
Last March, a 33-year-old Irishman traveling a similar route was arrested after 15kg of cocaine was found in his luggage in Zurich.
He had flown from Sao Paulo to the Swiss city and planned to travel on to Dublin via Frankfurt before being detained.
Gardaí is investigating possible links between the two incidents, but links have not yet been confirmed.
In recent years, gardaí have increased their international cooperation with police forces around the world by seconding garda liaison officers to several countries.
This included sending a senior detective to the Colombian capital, Bogota, to help investigate transnational drug trafficking from South America.
In a separate seizure on Monday, also carried out by the GNDOCB and the tax authorities, nearly €7 million worth of cannabis was seized following an operation at a business premises in Ballyhale, Co Kilkenny
Two English nationals, aged 30 and 40, are still in Garda custody over drug trafficking seizures.