Lithuanian human smuggling gang attacked again when gardaí seizes weapons, drugs and cash in Meath

Updated 38 minutes ago

Source: An Garda Síochána

A LITHUANIAN CRIME gang involved in human trafficking and international drug trafficking suffered another blow after a major seizure of drugs and weapons by the Garda.

At around 11 am yesterday, the Gardaí from the Meath Division Drug Unit conducted a search operation on a business in Rathfeigh.

During the search, approximately € 570,000 worth of MDMA tablets, around € 156,000 of suspected MDMA powder, € 140,800 of suspected cocaine, € 80,000 of suspected cannabis herb and around 6,000 Xanax tablets worth € 12,000 were seized.

In total, the drugs have an estimated value of € 958,800.

Gardaí recovered cash worth 489,120 euros.

A 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol, two Walter 9mm pistols, two silencers and 75 rounds of 9mm Luger and Fiocci ammunition were also found. The weapons have been sent to the Ballistics Unit for analysis.

A man in his 40s was arrested by Gardaí and is being held for questioning. He is suspected of being one of the “core members” of the gang, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Aside from drug trafficking, the man has caught the attention of gardaí for orchestrating a fake car accident scam, which brought him more than 200 thousand euros.

This is the latest in a series of raids targeting Lithuanian criminals, who control significant amounts of heroin trafficking across the country.

Gardaí, along with their counterparts in Lithuania and Europol, have dealt significant blows to the band in the past six weeks. As a result, the tasks of the garda drug units with the surveillance of these criminals have noted a significant decrease in gang activity.

In early September, Gardaí together with the Lithuanian police and members of Europol raided several premises on the island of Ireland and arrested 18 suspected members of the heroin gang. The arrests were made here, in the north and in Europe.

This international day of action against this heroin gang resulted in five people who were arrested in Ireland being brought before a special session of the High Court for extradition proceedings. This resulted in four of the individuals being taken into custody before the Superior Court at a later date, while the fifth person was released on bail before the Superior Court at a later date.

Gardaí believes that there are more than 100 people who have been trafficked to Ireland to do work for the gang.

While this is not exactly the same gang that was targeted yesterday in the search, it is another arm of the Lithuanian mafia, which is controlled by a large crime family in Lithuania itself.

With reporting by Sean Murray