Posted by The haul was allegedly found by workmen clearing out a basement Workmen found cocaine worth more than €500,000 dumped inside Garda headquarters, a
TD has claimed.
Labour TD for Tipperary Alan Kelly told The Dáil on Tuesday evening that the 8kgs of the drug were only discovered when the workmen lifted a locker that was being disposed of – and realised it was heavier than the others they had just taken out.“When they opened it, out fell eight kilos of cocaine,” Deputy Kelly told a Dáil debate on policing. And he added: “Now, how in the name of God did that happen?”The TD claimed the incident happened in early 2019, when workmen were clearing out a basement in Garda HQ at Dublin’s Phoenix Park. He said the basement had been used by Forensic Science Ireland, part of the Department of Justice, that examines drugs and other items for Gardaí.Deputy Kelly asked Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan if he was aware of the incident. He said: “I just want to raise one other thing; it relates to the discovery of eight kilos of pure cocaine mistakenly dumped by Forensic Science Ireland.
“I wish to inquire if the minister was alerted by either the Garda Commissioner or the director general of Forensic Science Ireland that in April 2019, when Forensic Science Ireland, an agency within the Department of Justice, was disposing of items in a basement area within the Garda headquarters complex that a locker was being disposed of.“And those who were brought in from outside, a private company, realised the locker was heavier than all the other lockers. And when they opened it, out fell eight kilos of cocaine. Now, how, in the name of God, did that happen?“How is this possible, minister, and what knowledge did the department have in relation to this? Only for the fact that the private company was so honourable, that cocaine could have ended up back on the streets.”
A kilogram of cocaine is worth €70,000, so the batch in the locker was officially valued at €560,000. But if the drug haul was pure, it would have been cut, or diluted, for sale – which means it could have been worth up to €1.7 million on the streets.
Meanwhile, in the same speech, Deputy Kelly also held up this photo – which he said showed how seized firearms were stored in the same Garda HQ.He held up the photo and told Minister O’Callaghan: “This is the inside of the container. I’ll give you this minister. This is how firearms were stored by An Garda Síochána – 392 firearms were discovered. Documentation was located for only 102 firearms, no documentation for the remaining 290 lethal firearms.“
He added: “Of the 392 firearms, only 154 were recorded on PULSE. Ninety-two of the firearms had no serial number.”
He said: “There’s a deep concern Minister about this, and what else we don’t know in relation to how firearms were managed, what happened inside in that container, and are there any other instances that we don’t know about?”
In a statement to the Irish Mirror on Tuesday night, a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said: “An Garda Síochána does not comment on remarks made by 3rd parties.
“This office is aware that some of these matters have been previously raised and addressed by the Minister for Justice in the Dáil.An Garda Síochána does not comment on the detail of internal investigations and/or matters that may or may not have been referred to GSOC. An Garda Síochána is precluded by law from commenting on any matters subject of a protected disclosure.138507677563
“An Garda Síochána takes its responsibility for the secure storage of firearms, official firearms and non-official firearms, including evidential material very seriously.”
“This office is not in a position to provide any further information, at this time,” the spokesperson added.
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