Spanish police, in collaboration with Irish police and the UK’s National Crime Agency, have successfully disrupted a criminal gang suspected of smuggling cannabis concealed within bags of animal feed into the Republic of Ireland. Thirteen individuals were arrested during various operations in Spain, including a related arrest made in County Louth earlier this summer.

During extensive raids in Madrid, Malaga, and Seville, authorities seized approximately one hundred thousand euros, equivalent to eighty-six thousand pounds, alongside six hundred and thirty marijuana plants. Additionally, a firearm, three detonators, vehicles, watches, and electronic devices were confiscated. The Spanish National Police indicated that property and assets valued at over two million euros, or one point seven million pounds, have also been blocked.

The investigation, which began in January twenty twenty-five, unveiled a network of Irish, British, and Spanish nationals utilising freight companies to ship animal feed laced with concealed cannabis buds to Ireland. In the past few months, police in Spain have intercepted multiple shipments, leading to the seizure of around three hundred kilograms of cannabis. Spanish authorities estimate that over three tonnes of cannabis may have been smuggled since twenty nineteen.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána, the Irish police, confirmed that they had charged a man in May twenty twenty-five as part of this investigation in cooperation with Spanish authorities. The spokesperson stated that this individual has since appeared before the courts.