Thursday 29 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 7309Drug trafficking (cocaine); dangerous driving · Co. Louth · 20 Oct 2023

Two men arrested after €30,000 cocaine seized following garda car ramming in Louth

On the evening of Friday 20 October 2023, at about 9:30pm, gardaí stopped a car in the Ferdia Park area of Ardee, County Louth, while speaking to its two male occupants. The driver accelerated away and hit the rear of an official garda vehicle, and a managed containment operation followed in which gardaí saw a package thrown from the car on the N52 at Corbollis. The package was later recovered and about €30,000 of suspected cocaine was seized; the operation ended on the N52 at Clonkeehan with no injuries reported, and two men, aged in their 60s and 40s, were arrested and detained at a County Louth garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. As of 21 October 2023, the seized drugs are to be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis and investigations are ongoing.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrested20 Oct
    2 reports
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
About €30,000 of suspected cocaine was seized after a package thrown from the car was recovered.
Cause
The driver accelerated away while gardaí were speaking to the two male occupants, hitting the rear of an official garda vehicle and causing extensive damage.
Where
  • Gardaí stopped the car in the Ferdia Park area of Ardee, County Louth.
  • Gardaí saw a package thrown from the vehicle in the Corbollis area on the N52, and the containment operation ended on the N52 at Clonkeehan.
When
The incident took place at about 9:30pm on Friday 20 October 2023.
Investigation
  • A managed containment operation involving multiple garda units was carried out.
  • The seized drugs are to be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis, and investigations are ongoing.
Other details
  • No injuries were reported.
  • Two men, aged in their 60s and 40s, were arrested by gardaí and are detained at a garda station in County Louth under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
  • Garda.ie issued an official release on 21 October 2023, and the Irish Mirror reported the incident the same day.
15 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatAbout €30,000 of suspected cocaine was seized. (garda.ie, irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe driver accelerated away and hit the rear of an official garda vehicle, causing extensive damage. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereGardaí stopped a car in the Ferdia Park area of Ardee. (garda.ie, irishmirror.ie)
  • whereGardaí saw a package thrown from the vehicle in the Corbollis area on the N52. (garda.ie, irishmirror.ie)
  • whereThe containment operation ended on the N52 at Clonkeehan. (garda.ie, irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe incident happened on the evening of Friday 20 October 2023, at about 9:30pm. (garda.ie)
  • whenThe stop happened at around 9:30pm on a Friday. (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThe driver accelerated the car away from the scene, hitting the rear of a Garda vehicle and causing extensive damage. (garda.ie)
  • investigationGardaí carried out a managed containment operation involving multiple units. (garda.ie)
  • investigationThe seized drugs will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. (garda.ie, irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationInvestigations are ongoing. (garda.ie, irishmirror.ie)
  • otherNo injuries were reported. (garda.ie, irishmirror.ie)
  • otherTwo men were arrested and are being detained at a Garda station in County Louth under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. (garda.ie)
  • otherTwo men were arrested by gardaí. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherBoth men are detained at a garda station in County Louth under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. (irishmirror.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 21 Oct2023
    Arrestedirishmirror.ie, first report
    Two men arrested and €30,000 cocaine seized after garda car rammed in Louth

    Original report of the Ardee car stop, the garda car ramming, the N52 containment operation and the cocaine seizure.

    suspect, 60s, malesuspect, 40s, male
  2. 20 Oct2023
    Arrestedgarda.ie, follow-up
    Two Men Arrested and €30,000 Cocaine Seized Following Dangerous Driving Incident in County Louth, Friday 20th October 2023

    Official garda.ie release, issued 21 October 2023. It confirms the two arrests, places the stop at Ferdia Park, Ardee, and adds the package thrown on the N52 at Corbollis, the containment operation ending at Clonkeehan, the Section 4 detention at a Louth garda station, and that the drugs will go to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis.

    suspect, malesuspect, male