Cocaine Seizure at Dublin Airport
Officers from Revenue's Customs Service and the Garda National Immigration Bureau at Dublin Airport detained a 31-year-old Ghanaian man on Wednesday (19/05/2004) on suspicion of importing Cocaine. The man had arrived on a flight from Ghana via Amsterdam. He was arrested by Gardai from the Drugs Unit at Santry Garda Station on suspicion of drugs importation and brought to hospital where he was X-rayed.
The man was found to have 39 pellets containing Cocaine concealed internally, amounting to 400gms with an approximate value of €30,000. The pellets were subjected to forensic examination to test for the presence of Cocaine and to determine the weight.
There has been four similar cases at Dublin Airport in the last six months, involving individuals who swallow large quantities of drugs to evade detection by Customs. Swallowers sometimes die from a drugs overdose when natural stomach acids erode the packaging on the drugs.
Ends 19/05/04