A Garda at the centre of a major internal investigation is being examined for two serious allegations — the disappearance of a €100,000 cannabis seizure and the suspected leaking of sensitive policing information to a local crime gang.
The officer was one of six people arrested on Wednesday during coordinated raids carried out by gardaí, including units attached to organised crime and anti-corruption divisions based in Dublin. The probe focuses on a series of connected offences involving corruption, organised criminality and drug-trafficking.
The serving garda was arrested and questioned over the alleged unauthorised removal of €100,000 worth of cannabis from a secure locker in a station in the east of the country. The drugs had been seized in late 2023, but when officers went to retrieve the haul several weeks later, it had vanished.
He was questioned by the Anti-Corruption Unit under organised crime legislation and has since been released without charge. He was immediately suspended from duty upon release.
Investigators are also examining whether the garda passed sensitive operational information to members of a local crime gang. A source said: “This investigation has developed from the missing drugs to other related matters and it is being investigated if this garda did pass on information to assist local criminals in his area.”
The officer had previously been regarded as a trusted investigator involved in several high-profile and sensitive cases, making his arrest particularly shocking for colleagues.
Five other people were detained as part of the wider criminal investigation. They include a man and woman in their 30s and 40s arrested in the midlands, a man in his 40s detained in the east for alleged corruption offences, and two men in their 40s and 50s arrested in connection with suspected drug-trafficking activity. All have since been released, and files are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A Garda spokesperson said officers in the eastern region “continue to investigate all the circumstances surrounding the alleged unauthorised removal of a substantial quantity of controlled drugs from a Garda station in January 2024.” They added: “A member of An Garda Síochána who was arrested in connection with the investigation has been released without charge. Immediately upon release the member of An Garda Síochána was placed on suspension from duty.”
The spokesperson confirmed: “The five other people (not members of An Garda Síochána) who were arrested in connection with the investigation have all been released without charge.”
The investigation is ongoing.
