The Special Criminal Court has heard how one of the biggest cartels in the world managed to smuggle almost 33-million euro of Crystal Meth into Ireland.
The details were outlined at the sentence hearing of Kerry businessman, Nathan McDonnell, from Ballyroe in Tralee; who has admitted his role in the operation.
Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney reports,
"Last February, customs officers at the port of cork inspected a shipping container destined for Australia. Crystal Meth, worth 32.4 million euro, was found inside the empty shell of a large machine that had arrived from Mexico four months earlier.
After its arrival to Ireland, it was brought to a warehouse in the Ballyseedy Garden centre. Nathan MacDonnell, then the head of the Tralee based business, insisted he didn't know what was inside the machine when he agreed to store it, he also admitted making arrangements for it to be shipped to its final destination in the hope of making 150,000 euro.
The court heard Gardaí became aware of the shipment during its investigation of a Kerry based gang with links to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
McDonald will be sentenced later this month for his role in what was the largest seizure of Crystal Meth in the history of the state".
