Four men have to appear in court after cocaine worth 15 million euros was seized in a major operation – Homepage

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Updated at 13:50

Four men will soon appear in court as part of a Europol investigation into shutting down a major criminal communications platform called Ghost.

The infiltration of an encrypted communications tool led to the seizure of cocaine worth 15 million euros and eleven arrests in Ireland.

Europol, together with law enforcement authorities from nine countries, has dismantled the instrument described as a “lifeline” for serious organised crime.

An Garda Siochána said that in connection with Ghost, it was conducting investigations into four identified organised crime groups in Ireland that were involved in drug trafficking and money laundering on a “significant scale”.

The infiltration of the platform led to a series of searches at 27 premises in Dublin and the eastern counties of Ireland on Monday evening, involving 300 Gardaí.

Representatives from Europol, the Australian Federal Police and the FBI were in Ireland for the operation.

Organised crime gangs prey on the vulnerable, destroying lives and devastating entire communities – not just in Ireland, but around the world.

We believe that crime does not pay in the long run.#KeepPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/CldU9btqgr

— GardaInfo (@gardainfo) 18 September 2024

As a result of the operation and previous Garda activity related to Ghost, Gardaí seized €15 million worth of cocaine, €230,000 worth of cannabis and €100,000 worth of heroin, as well as €350,000 in cash.

Other items seized included 27 laptops, 42 devices suspected of being encrypted with Ghost ECC, and 126 other mobile devices.

In addition, eleven arrests were made.

At a joint press conference on Wednesday, Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said: “We have made it clear that criminal networks, no matter how hidden they are, cannot escape our joint efforts.”

Europol Deputy Executive Director Jean-Philippe Lecouffe added: “This has truly been a global game of cat and mouse and today the game is over.”