An Garda Síochána and the Colombian National Police have signed a new agreement aimed at disrupting international drug-trafficking networks linked to Ireland, including to West Cork.

The memorandum of understanding, signed in May 2026, formalises cooperation on intelligence-sharing, operational assistance, joint training and the exchange of best practice.

It also establishes direct communication channels for sharing strategic, technical and scientific information.

The agreement comes as organised crime groups continue to exploit international shipping routes and transport networks to move cocaine and other illicit drugs.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said the force was determined to help ‘disrupt, degrade and dismantle’ transnational organised crime groups.

He said the agreement with Colombia strengthened Ireland’s international partnerships and would support efforts to protect communities and bring offenders to justice.

Colombia’s National Police Director General William Oswaldo Rincón said the agreement would lead to ‘a profound operational modernisation’ in the fight against organised crime, through joint training and the sharing of intelligence.

West Cork has long been used as a landing point for smuggled drugs.

Last year, cocaine worth more than €31 million was seized near Courtmacsherry’s Broad Strand, with four men arrested at the time.

A foiled drug-smuggling attempt was discovered at Tragumna in 2024.

Another drug shipment was found in 2014, with 1,025kg of cocaine seized aboard the yacht Makayabella, around 200 miles off the south-west coast and four men jailed in September 2015.

And in 2007, 62 bales of cocaine with a value of around €440 million were recovered from the sea near Mizen Head.