An Garda Síochána confirmed today (21 September 2026) that officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and Revenue Customs have concluded their Irish contribution to “Operation Atlas Nexus”, a worldwide enforcement surge co-ordinated by the EU’s EMPACT platform, Frontex and CARICOM IMPACS. Thirty-four countries took part, targeting five ‘priority criminal markets’: drug trafficking, human trafficking, document fraud, firearms trafficking and environmental crime. Irish investigators focused on supply chains moving illicit drugs through Irish ports and airports. A June raid on a truck trailer uncovered a mobile laboratory and 74 kg of cocaine concealed in wooden panels imported from Colombia, while a July intelligence-led search at Dublin Port seized a further 24 kg of cocaine with the help of detector dog Gerry and Revenue’s mobile X-ray scanner. Three men are before the courts. Globally the operation yielded 490 arrests and seizures worth millions of euro, including 156 tonnes of drugs, 201 weapons and 468 fraudulent travel documents. Eighteen trafficking victims were rescued. For multinationals operating supply chains through Ireland, the results signal heightened scrutiny of cargoes and tighter checks of paperwork at Irish sea and air gateways. Logistics managers should expect additional inspections, longer dwell-times and a continued focus on high-risk routings from Latin America. The GNDOCB said further joint actions with Europol and Frontex are planned as Ireland prepares to assume intensified EU Presidency security responsibilities next quarter.
Source: An Garda Síochána press release
