Drug Smugglers Exploiting Lack of Garda Presence at Foynes Port: Report

14th June 2026

Afloat.ie Team

File image of a ship docked at port in the Shannon Estuary Credit: Cathal Noonan/True Media

A report in The Journal says that the Port of Foynes on the Shannon Estuary is being exploited by international drug smugglers — but is policed by only two gardaí.

Sources claim that Garda organised crime operations “focus on a centralised analysis of intelligence, which is then provided to dedicated drugs units”.

But a significant weakness of that approach is the lack of local knowledge, made clear when an intelligence-led operation put gardaí on the wrong side of the estuary, allowing a drugs gang to get away with their illicit haul.

At present, just two gardaí are posted to the town of Foynes, and their shifts rarely overlap — meaning that, as one source put it: “There is essentially one garda at a time policing the whole of the N69.”

The Journal has more on the story HERE.

Published in Shannon Estuary

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Shannon Foynes Port Information

Shannon Foynes Port (SFPC) are investing in an unprecedented expansion at its general cargo terminal, Foynes, adding over two-thirds the size of its existing area. In the latest phase of a €64 million investment programme, SFPC is investing over €20 million in enabling works alone to convert 83 acres on the east side of the existing port into a landbank for marine-related industry, port-centric logistics and associated infrastructure. The project, which will be developed on a phased basis over the next five years, will require the biggest infrastructure works programme ever undertaken at the port, with the entire 83 acre landbank having to be raised by 4.4 metres. The programme will also require the provision of new internal roads and multiple bridge access as well as roundabout access.