GARDAÍ HAVE ARRESTED a woman in her thirties as part of a joint investigation being carried out alongside the PSNI into the seizure of cocaine from the MV Matthew cargo ship in September. 

The seizure of €157m of cocaine on 26 September was the largest amount of the drug ever discovered by authorities in Ireland.

Army rangers stormed the ship off the coast of County Cork, after abseiling onto the deck from an air corps helicopter in difficult weather conditions. 

Now Gardaí are continuing their investigations into the seizure as part of a Joint Agency Task Force, which today carried out a cross border operation involving searches in both the North and the Republic. 

Gardaí who carried out a searches at locations in the Dublin area arrested a woman in her thirties, who is currently being detained at a Garda Station in the Dublin Region. 

A garda spokesperson said the woman can be held for up to seven days, and investigations are ongoing. 

A spokesperson from the PSNI said that investigating officers carried out searches in Newry and seized a number of items including a vehicle and a several phones. 

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Working with partners, the Police Service is committed to detecting and preventing drug-related activity – from the importation of drugs to the inevitable fallout.”

“Anyone with information, or concerns, about the illegal use or supply of drugs is asked to contact police on 101,” they added.