DUBLIN: Cannabis worth 4.5m euros (£3.6m) and bound for the UK has been found in the Republic of Ireland.
Customs officials discovered the drugs stuffed into more than 1,000 tins of olives in Dublin Port.
The 200 kilos of cannabis was divided into small parcels that were double vacuum-packed and hidden in 1,050 catering tins of olives in oil.
Customs officials said the drugs were seized after a “profiling operation” targeting cargo at the port.
The investigating officers believe the drugs arrived from Spain and were destined for the UK.
A Revenue spokeswoman said: “Investigations are continuing here with international inquiries ongoing in Spain and the UK.”
Michael Gilligan, Irish Revenue’s head of central investigations for tax and customs, said it was a sophisticated standard of concealment that indicated the level of the crime gang behind it.
“We’ve seen drugs smuggled in coffee before, but this is the first time we have come across it in olives,” he said.
“The smell of the olives was overpowering.
