Rosslare‘ now a major drug port’

May 1988

There is growing concern that Rosslare Harbour has become the main drug importation point for the country.

Senior drug squad officers revealed on Wednesday that there had been an increase in the number of offenders caught attempting to import drugs through the port.

The revelation came as Wexford Circuit Court heard two separate cases involving three people who admitted the importation of cannabis with a street value of nearly £80,000.

The offences occurred in March and April of this year and they followed the sentencing of a Dutchman in April for similar offences.

Before the court on Wednesday were Dutchman [NAME WITHELD], who admitted importing cannabis worth more than £50,000 through Rosslare on March 18 last. Also pleading guilty were [NAMES WITHELD], both of Brook Drive, Tallaght, who imported £25,000 worth of cannabis between them on April 16.

The first defendant revealed in a statement that he had brought the drugs by car to Ireland and was to deliver them to a person in Dublin. The drug was contained in an LPG gas tank in the car and was so carefully hidden that the vehicle had to be held overnight in Rosslare before the offence was detected.

A small gas tank showed a reading on the pressure gauge. It was the first time this outfit was ever detected being used to take drugs into Ireland, the court was told.

The two Dubliners also admitted the crime. They had travelled to Amsterdam after one of them was approached in Dublin and asked if he would like ‘a bit of work’.

The defendant, who had two children by his co-defendant’s sister, said they had stayed in a hotel in Amsterdam and the drugs had been handed to them in their hotel room.

They travelled back to Ireland with the drugs strapped to their bodies.

Sentencing in both cases was adjourned and all three men were remanded in custody.