Gardaí in Donegal to launch Coastal Watch Programme to combat drugs threat

Gardaí in Donegal are to launch the Coastal Watch Programme locally in a bid to respond to the threat of drugs being landed along the coastline.

It comes months after the discovery of up to €4m of cocaine in two huge bales weighing up to 60kgs which were washed up along the coastline at Fanad and Dunfanaghy last July.

Newly-appointed Donegal Chief Superintendent Goretti Sheridan outlined some details of the plan at the latest meeting of the Joint Policing Committee.

The local Coastal Watch Programme will be led by Garda Inspector Paul McGee.

Details of the overall programme were given at the Donegal Joint Policing Committee meeting by Detective Superintendent Se McCormack of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.

He revealed the aim of the Coastal Watch programme is to build up a better community response to unusual activity along the coastline.

He added that Coastal Watch is essentially Neighbourhood Watch but specifically for the coastline.

Chief Superintendent Sheridan confirmed that the Coastal Watch programme will be officially launched in Donegal later this year and that Inspector McGee will lead it out.

Meanwhile,  Detective Superintendent McCormack said that the investigation into last July's discovery of approximately €4m of cocaine along the Donegal coastline was ongoing but that he could not comment any further than that. 

Some of the risk indicators that members of the public are requested to be on the lookout for as part of Coastal Watch are: suspicious activity about persons or vehicles; ships and yachts sighted in remote areas; crew making landings in remote areas; unusual objects at sea or ashore; ships away from their normal shipping lanes; vessels operating at night without lights; packages floating in the sea, lying on the beach or hidden close to the shore.