Heroin with an estimated street value of more than €8m (£6.8m) and a plane have been seized at an airport in Dublin, gardaí (Irish police) have said.
The seizure was part of joint operation between An Garda Síochána (Irish police) and Irish customs officers.
A light aircraft was intercepted and later seized on Friday morning at Weston Airport, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported.
This followed the discovery of 60kg of vacuum-packed heroin in the aircraft.
Two men, one aged in his 40s and one in his 60s, have been arrested as part of Friday’s intelligence-led joint operation.
The pair are being detained under drug trafficking legislation and are currently being detained at a Garda station in County Kildare.
They can be held for up to seven days.
A light aircraft was searched and later seized on Friday morning at Weston Airport
Detectives said the drugs were sourced by a family-based Dublin gang with links to the the notorious Kinahan criminal organisation, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reports.
It is Ireland’s wealthiest, most powerful and ruthless criminal gang.
The US Treasury Department describes the Kinahan cartel as one of the most dangerous in the world, comparable to crime organisations such as Italy’s Camorra, Mexico’s Los Zetas and Japan’s Yakuza.
According to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, the gang is estimated to have made more than €1bn (£853m) globally from its activities.
‘Hugely significant’
Assistant Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described Friday’s seizure as “hugely significant”.
“The importance of disrupting criminal networks supplying this type of drug into our communities has been reinforced by the recent wave of overdoses in Dublin city centre,” he said.
“This operation shows the importance of multi-agency co-operation, in this case between An Garda Síochána, Irish customs and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre in Lisbon, Portugal.
“I wish to commend the dedication and professionalism of all the personnel involved in this complex operation”.