Louth woman questioned over Belgium drugs haul

A Co Louth woman is being questioned in relation to the massive shipment of drugs discovered on an Irish-registered truck in Belgium last week.

The woman was detained last night following a series of raids in the Ardee area. She was taken to Monaghan Garda Station and questioned under anti-drug trafficking legislation.
During the raids a lorry and trailer as well as a small quantity of cash were seized. A detailed forensic examination of the vehicle will now be carried out. The results will be compared with the Belgian forensic tests taken from the lorry which was discovered near the French border.

The driver on the Irish registered articulated truck which was abandoned near the Belgian town of Kortrik on Saturday, August 31, is still on the run. Gardai are satisfied that he remains outside the jurisdiction.
A euro 30 million shipment of drugs bound for Ireland was discovered in the truck hours after it was abandoned by the driver. The drugs were found hidden under a false floor in the trailer.

A full-scale investigation involving the Gardai, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and police in the Netherlands and Belgium immediately swung into action to piece together the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the truck.

The truck was found abandoned in a lay-by beside a service station near the Begian town of Kortrijk, near Ghent, about seven miles from the French border.

The vehicle was abandoned with the driver’s door ajar which aroused suspicion. Police were called to the scene and carried out a detailed search of the truck and trailer before they uncovered the huge shipment.

Belgian police watched the truck for two days waiting for the driver to return. It is understood the driver fled on foot.
It is further understood the driver hired the vehicle from a small haulage contractor based in Ireland. Belgian police said they had yet to confirm if the driver was Irish, but gardai believe he comes from the Border area.

A gang with a long history of drug dealing in the Border region is believed to be behind the shipment. Belgian authorities have confirmed it contained 580,000 ecstasy tablets, 602,000 vials of liquid ecstasy, 104 kgs of speed, 34kgs of heroin, and 260kgs of cannabis, hidden in the back of a refrigerated trailer.