More than 300kg of cocaine was discovered on board the Verila cargo ship, which had travelled from South America via Canada. Local gardaí, as well as members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, are assisting the inquiry. At this stage, gardaí have not discovered any connections between the Limerick seizure and other recent drug busts around the country. The cargo ship was identified by Revenue officials as potentially being used to smuggle cocaine before it was subsequently searched. "There's a prejudice that younger men in their 20s are cocaine users, but this goes right across through all ages and demographics.

Source: Irish Independent December 20, 2023 18:25 UTC