Issue Date: 19/08/2025
The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, as part of ongoing intelligence led investigations targeting transnational organised crime, has been engaged in a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) with Poland coordinated by Eurojust and supported by Europol.
This JIT agreement was signed with Poland on 24th January 2022 and was established to target a network of transnational Polish criminal organisations with leadership, transport and distribution cells based in Poland, Spain and Ireland. These organisations were identified to be coordinating the importation of cannabis at a significant scale into Ireland as well as other European jurisdictions.
The Joint Investigation Team successfully reached its conclusion in 2025 with evidential cooperation continuing to support prosecutions.
During the course of this investigation extensive cooperation and collaboration was achieved with Law Enforcement agencies across several European Union countries with all international cooperation and coordination facilitated via Eurojust and Europol.
Across the course of the investigations, over €8 million of controlled drugs have been seized in Ireland, with assistance from our colleagues in the Revenue’s Customs Service, including 340kg of cannabis herb, 155kg of cannabis resin and 26kg of amphetamine, as well as over €800,000 in cash. 13 Polish nationals based in Ireland were arrested as part of the investigations into this organised criminal activity.
Evidence provided by Ireland was shared with prosecutors in Poland and as part of the Joint Investigation Team, a number of the prosecution cases in Ireland were transferred to Poland for prosecution as part of larger organised crime prosecutions in the Polish jurisdiction.
In total over 800kg of controlled drugs along with seven firearms and several hundred rounds of ammunition was seized across a number of European jurisdictions. Charges have been filed against 170 individuals in Poland by the District Prosecutors Office in Gliwice and assets worth over €11 million have been seized by Polish investigators across Europe as being the proceeds of crime. These assets have been and are currently subject to forfeiture cases in Poland.
The JIT Leader for Ireland, Detective Superintendent Dave Gallagher of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said "This investigation again shows the international dimensions of transnational organised crime and demonstrates fully the benefits of our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement in other jurisdictions. Such investigations coordinated via Europol and Eurojust continue to disrupt, prosecute and dismantle transnational criminal organisations impacting on communities in Ireland and across Europe”
