{"id":535337,"date":"2026-07-06T07:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T07:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/535337\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T07:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T07:24:10","slug":"cocaine-drenched-plywood-smuggled-into-ireland-destined-for-midlands-processing-lab-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/535337\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocaine-drenched plywood smuggled into Ireland destined for midlands \u2018processing lab\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Irish drugs gang had been buying plywood drenched in liquid cocaine and importing the slabs of wood into the country in a bid to avoid detection. <\/p>\n

Once smuggled into the Republic, the plywood was undergoing a process to extract the cocaine and turn it into blocks and bags of the powder-form drug for sale. The operation was discovered by garda\u00ed<\/a> last month. <\/p>\n

The plywood was being ground down into sawdust using workshop machinery before the sawdust was treated and purified to extract and isolate the cocaine, according to Garda sources. <\/p>\n

The work was all being undertaken in a processing lab using a mix of chemicals, before it was uncovered by garda\u00ed. <\/p>\n

Although an Irish gang with a number of bases in the midlands owned the drug, garda\u00ed believe they had assistance in the operation. <\/p>\n

The process of drenching the plywood in cocaine \u2013 converting it into so-called camouflage cocaine for smuggling \u2013 was performed overseas. However, the processing laboratory was set up by the Irish gang, garda\u00ed believe. Specific details, including the processing facility\u2019s location, cannot be revealed for legal reasons.<\/p>\n

Camouflage cocaine is created to disguise the drug as regular, legal products or materials in a bid to facilitate its shipment around the world without detection. Once it reaches its destination it is processed to extract the cocaine and reconstitute it, usually in vacuum-packed blocks.<\/p>\n

The most sophisticated example of camouflage cocaine linked to the Irish market emerged in July 2021, in a discovery unrelated to last month\u2019s find.<\/p>\n

Up to \u20ac35 million worth of cocaine, which was disguised as charcoal<\/a> and destined for Ireland, was found in Rotterdam and sent to the Republic for investigation. <\/p>\n

Forensic Science Ireland said at the time the cocaine-charcoal haul, transported in sacks in two shipping containers, had been produced via a \u201clengthy chemical process and moulded into shapes\u201d to make it look and feel like conventional charcoal.<\/p>\n

In relation to the most recent find, The Irish Times understands a large volume of evidence has been uncovered. It effectively captures the full process \u2013 the planks of plywood and the equipment and chemicals needed to produce the finished cocaine product.<\/p>\n

It is the first time such a sophisticated cocaine-processing facility has been found in the Republic.<\/p>\n

Nobody has yet been charged over the operation of the facility and the alleged illegal manufacture of cocaine there. However, investigations by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Revenue\u2019s customs service are continuing.<\/p>\n

In July, 2003, garda\u00ed discovered foreign criminals processing clothing that had been drenched, or \u201cimpregnated\u201d, in liquid cocaine in a bid to isolate the drug.<\/p>\n

However, the processing laboratory found in the midlands last month was far more sophisticated given the machinery in use and the tens of thousands of litres of chemicals recovered. <\/p>\n

Some of the machinery was mobile and garda\u00ed suspect the facility had been set up in a manner that would have allowed for its easy relocation out of concern that staying in the same premises for long would lead to it being detected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Irish drugs gang had been buying plywood drenched in liquid cocaine and importing the slabs of wood…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[45,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-535337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}