Donegal man suspected of being 'major player' in international drug trafficking

A Donegal man is a prime target for detectives investigating major drug-trafficking activity.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) swooped on the man's luxury home in Donegal on Wednesday morning.

Aided by dozens of gardai, CAB busted the property as well as a business premises in Letterkenny.

A total of 23 searches took place in Donegal and Dublin as part of a probe into two men – the Donegal man and a business partner from the Dublin area – who are said to be 'major facilitators' for some of the world's largest drug gangs.

Wednesday morning's dawn raids were carried out as part of a CAB investigation into the assets of persons who are suspected of being involved in drug trafficking on an international scale.

Donegal Live understands that the Donegal man, who is aged in his 30s and mainly based in the Middle East, is believed to have provided logistical services to the Kinahan organised crime gang and also to another drug gang, led by an individual known as 'Mr Big'.

A source told Donegal Live that those probing the activity believe that the Donegal man has facilitated 'massive movement' of drugs.

He is suspected of being a large player in drug shipments, particularly in the trafficking of cocaine from South America.

“We are talking international-scale stuff here, as in several tons of drugs, major loads,” the source said.

“These people provide logistical services for drug gangs. Essentially, they would act as a go-to in terms of taking drugs into a market and taking money out.”

While the man's drug-related activity, and that of his business partner, was largely under the radar, they were targeted as a result of good citizen reports.

A plush coastal home in Donegal, said to have been 'filled with marble' and which was located on a large parcel of land, raised the eyebrows of locals. It is believed that the home was valued upwards of €1million.

An expensive SUV, a 2023-registered Volvo XC90, was kept parked in the driveway of the home while the man and his family spent a large portion of their time in the United Arab Emirates.

While the duo are said to have had a certain level of legitimate business incomes, their opulent spending drew suspicions and led CAB to close the net in.

Divisional Asset Profilers were also used in Donegal to work on the case, which escalated with Wednesday's dawn raids.

Around €73,000 was frozen in a bank account while electronic devices and financial documents were among the items seized in an operation that involved a total of 70 personnel and 23 different searches.

The gang at the centre of the probe is said to have 'extensive links' to Donegal, north Dublin as well as Scotland, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

The operation was conducted with support of Gardaí from the Milford District and others across the Donegal Division, the Regional Armed Support Unit, the Customs Dog Unit and members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.

A CAB spokesperson said: “The search operation was conducted as part of an on-going proceeds of crime investigation targeting assets, including real estate, deriving in whole or in part from the proceeds of criminal activity.

“This particular investigation was supported by a number of good citizens reports (GCRs) and also the assistance of a divisional assets profiler.”