Police investigate after drugs washed up at Tyrella beach

Police investigate after drugs washed up at Tyrella beach

2 August 2023

A PACKAGE containing suspected illegal drugs recently washed up on Tyrella beach, police have confirmed.

The package discovered on May 8 was strikingly similar to one found further along the coastline in Ballymartin on the same date.

News of the discoveries comes a week after reports of drugs washing ashore in Donegal which had an estimated street value of €4m.

Mournes councillor Glyn Hanna has highlighted the local issue so people are aware that the worrying issue is not just confined to the North West.

“This is happening in our area and I am aware of the incidents over recent months which resulted in packages of drugs washing ashore on public beaches,” he continued.

Cllr Hanna said he is “extremely worried” as these are large amounts of drugs which destroy lives. 

“I am asking the community to be careful if walking on beaches and they see suspicious parcels washing ashore to contact the police immediately or ring Crimestoppers,” he said.

“Police will address this issue in confidence and it is important that people can report such incidents without fear.”

Cllr Hanna added: “It is most important to remove these packages safely from the public and out of the community.”

The packages containing suspected cocaine in Donegal were found on beaches near Fanad and Dunfanaghy.

The first package was found on a beach near Fanad at around 8.30am on Wednesday of last week, with a second package discovered about half an hour later near Dunfanaghy. 

They are thought to contain 60kg of cocaine worth, with the packages sent for forensic analysis.

The discovery prompted Irish police to appeal to people to be on the lookout for what is being described as "marine debris that attracts attention”.

It has been suggested that the discovery of the drugs in Donegal could be either an isolated incident or part of an ongoing criminal operation.

A former head of EU anti-drugs-smuggling agency the MAOC-N said it was possible that the drug find was the result of a handover that went wrong.

Michael O'Sullivan said drugs are usually loaded on to large vessels in South America and offloaded on to smaller vessels in the Atlantic for transfer to Europe, while another possibility is that the drugs were simply dumped by those transporting them.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the PSNI received reports that two packages of suspected illegal drugs had been found on beaches in the Tyrella and Ballymartin on May 8.

"Enquiries are ongoing and we remain dedicated to keeping people safe,” he said.

“I would appeal to anyone who has any knowledge about the sale and distribution of drugs to call us on 101 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

The spokesman added: “Any information you can give us is vital in our ongoing fight against criminality.”