¤100k worth of cannabis stolen from garda station

GARDAÍ are investigating after over €100,000 worth of cannabis, which was being stored as evidence at a garda station, was stolen.

The theft happened at a station in the east of the country early this week, sparking senior officers to order an immediate investigation into the matter.

The drugs had been seized last year as part of an inquiry into suspected drug traffickers and was being held in an evidence lock-up.

Gardaí suspect that whoever took the drugs stash was familiar with the layout and security protocols at the station, meaning they are looking for either a sworn garda or a civilian staff member.

A Garda spokesman confirmed the inquiry, saying: ‘A criminal investigation is currently under way following reports that a significant amount of seized drugs were removed from a garda station in the east of the country. Enquiries are ongoing. No additional information is available at this time.’

Sources have told the Irish Daily Mail that CCTV footage of the station will be viewed. Garda cameras and private CCTV of vehicles in the area will also be viewed to look for any suspicious vehicles in the area at the time. However, this is likely to prove difficult as the precise time of the theft is not known.

One source explained that ‘there were around five kilos of cannabis seized a while back by gardaí who were looking at the workings of a criminal gang’ operating in a county in the east of the country as well as in parts of neighbouring counties.

‘It’s worth around €100,000 or more in street value,’ they added. ‘What happens in these sorts of incidents is that the drugs are seized and then brought to the station where a sample is then sent to forensics for verification. The drugs are then held as evidence.

‘What gardaí are trying to figure out is who, and why this happened. One of the most obvious theories is that someone was light-fingered and stole the drugs to sell off and make some money. But there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s never black and white.’

The source continued: ‘Gardaí are now talking with all staff, both sworn officers and civilians, about what happened. The rosters are being checked and they’re narrowing down who was there over the last few days and who has alibis.

‘There’s a real fear that a member of the force might have been pressured into taking these drugs as a form of blackmail.

‘It’s easy to say someone did it for money for themselves.’

Once gardaí found out the drugs were missing, they turned the station ‘upside down’ searching for them, another source said. Outhouses, bins and dumpsters were searched in the hope someone had mistakenly thrown the drugs out.

This is not the first time that seized items have been taken from a garda station.

In 2019, €12,000 in cash was taken from Drogheda Garda Station. The money had been seized as part of a criminal investigation but had not been placed in a safe.

In another incident, around €6,000 in cash was taken from Kevin Street Garda Station in Dublin city centre.

‘The rosters are being checked’