GARDAÍ have carried out searches in Kerrykeel and Buncrana as part of a two-day cross border investigation targeting drug criminality linked to the INLA.
The searches, along with further raids in Finglas, Co Dublin, resulted in a number of electronic devices being seized.
Superintendent Goretti Sheridan of the Buncrana Garda District said, “This operation has been ongoing since the summer of 2020 where An Garda Síochána and the PSNI have been liaising and gathering intelligence regarding the unlawful activities of the INLA, an unlawful organisation, and their involvement in the sale and supply of drugs in the north west, on both sides of the border.
“This is a borderless crime and it is imperative we in An Garda Síochána work closely with our colleagues in the PSNI in order to combat the sale and supply of controlled drugs which are devastating our communities. The INLA like other gangs involved in drug dealing are making huge profits and benefitting from this legal activity.
“With our colleagues in the PSNI we are committed to working together to ensure we keep everyone safe on both sides of the border,” she said.
PSNI Detective Chief Superintendent John McVea, Head of Criminal Investigation Branch said the operation was a “prime example of how the Joint Agency Task Force (JATF) works on the ground to tackle organised and cross jurisdictional crime”.
“The Cross Border JATF continues to provide opportunities for, and promote real time collaboration, between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI in our combined efforts to frustrate, disrupt and dismantle the activity of organised crime groups.”
Superintendent Goretti Sheridan added that efforts to disrupt the movements and activities of organised crime groups in border areas will continue in collaboration with the PSNI.
“We will continue to work together with our partners in the Police Service of Northern Ireland to frustrate and dismantle these organised crime groups. Criminals do not recognise borders and through the work of the Joint Agency Task Force we are able to do everything we can to ensure those involved in this type of organised and cross jurisdictional crime are dismantled and dealt with through the criminal justice system,” she said.
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