DUBLIN: A drug haul thought to be worth €750,000 has been seized by Customs Officers at Dublin Airport.
The consignment filled with herbal cannabis and five-and-a-half kilos of a white powder thought to be cocaine and is believed to be the biggest haul seized at the hub this year.
Officers became suspicious when they detected a strong smell of coffee coming from the parcel, the Irish Mirror reports.
They know drug traffickers often use coffee as a way of distracting the sniffer dogs from picking up the scent of contraband.
But not even the clever coffee tactics could fool the customs experts and sniffer dogs and the package was seized for further inspection.
In what has been described as a “game of cat and mouse” officers led by Mark Newman, produced the narcotic identification kit. And when their suspicions were confirmed the package is then confiscated.
Mark said: “I’d probably say this is the largest seizure this year – without a shadow of a doubt.
“I suppose I’ve always looked at this job like a high-profile game of cat and mouse, you’re constantly chasing the next target.”
The discovery was filmed for this week’s Stop, Search, Seize on Sky1.
The programme followed the Irish Customs Service who work on the frontline of our borders to protect illegal goods being brought into the country.
The documentary shows what steps are taken at before, during and after a drugs seizure.
Following a confiscation, officers in Dublin Airport will then work with others across Europe to alert them to the find.
Tonight’s episode shows how customs bosses distribute pictures of the drugs and the methods of concealment to airports around Ireland and Europe.
And with eight cargo warehouses at Dublin Airport, the customs staff certainly have their work cut out when it comes to preventing illegal items entering the country.
It’s estimated they search through 120 tonnes of cargo every year, to filter out drugs and other illegal goods attempted to be smuggled in.
With most being found to be legitimate items, ‘Stop, Search, Seize’ highlights how the team occasionally come across illegal goods which travellers attempt to sneak past the airport’s well-trained staff.
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