An alleged international cartel boss from Liverpool has been charged after the seizure of drugs worth an estimated €2 million in Ireland including "liquid cocaine".
The Gardaí (Irish Police) arrested seven people following a number of raids across Dublin on Wednesday June 22 and Thursday June 23 based on intelligence on a crime syndicate with links to Colombia. Some of the men tried to escape arrest by swimming across the River Liffey near Palmerstown but were caught.
On June 22, officers attached to the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau, assisted by officers from within the Dublin Region, searched a house in Beaumount, Dublin. A number of bottles of wine and champagne seized and examined, and are believed to contain cocaine in a liquid form.
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That cocaine haul alone is estimated to have a street value in excess of €150,000. On the same day, a car was stopped on the M50 motorway and properties in the Palmerstown and central Dublin areas were also raided.
Cocaine, heroin and cannabis were also seized, alongside a significant quantity of suspected dirty cash which is still being counted. Included in those arrested was 34-year-old Carl Powell, of Brocklebank Lane, Allerton.
Powell appeared at Dublin District Court on Saturday before Judge Treasa Kelly, charged with possessing cannabis for sale or supply at a house on Mill Lane, Palmerstown, and having heroin, cannabis, and cocaine for sale or supply at an apartment in central Dublin.
He was refused bail and kept in custody until his next appearance. According to reports in the Irish media, the operation was the result of intelligence from Bogota, the capital of Colombia, where the Irish police have a high-ranking officer stationed.
Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll said after the raids: "The outcome of operational activity undertaken by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, supported by a number of other specialised units within the Garda Síochána, over the past 24 hours, is very significant and reflects exceptional policing skills along with dedication and bravery on the part of the personnel involved.
"Arising from the global aspect of the drug supply networks that deliver drugs to cities and towns in Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK and elsewhere in Europe, the Garda Síochána has forged particularly strong and productive relationships with law enforcement entities in many countries across a number of continents.
"Again today the Garda Síochána and the people of Ireland reap the benefits of the Garda Síochána’s outreach at a global level.
"Large quantities of drugs have been seized, along with a significant quantity of money suspected to be proceeds of drug trafficking. Persons believed to operate at a significant level within the world of organised crime have been identified and arrested. A drug trafficking route has been identified and disrupted and a new method of concealing controlled substances has been identified and exposed."
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