Man with address in Derry among four arrested in Kerry drug investigation

Four men are being held in Killarney and Tralee Garda stations on suspicion of assisting a criminal organisation in the importation of controlled drugs – one of whom is from Derry.

RTÉ reports that the men in question have had their period of detention extended by up to an additional 72 hours for suspected involvement in the bringing in of drugs to Ireland from a “mothership” off the coast of Kerry.

On Sunday, gardaí became aware of four men acting suspiciously.

The arrests were made at around 5:20 am on Monday, following overnight activity involving two rigid inflatable boats travelling between Glen Pier in Ballinskelligs, Portmagee and Meenogahane Pier.

One of the boats was purchased in cash with €12,000.

A special sitting of the Killarney District Court heard that while no drugs have been found to date, several phones were seized including a highly encrypted device typically seen in high levels of international crime.

One of the men has an address in Derry, another in Manchester, and the remaining two in Glasgow.

The court heard all are presumed innocent.