Gardaí, the Naval Service and Customs have seized a consignment of at least 1.5 tonnes of cocaine off the southwest coast.
Gardaí say they found packages of cocaine with an estimated street value of around €500m, which would exceed last year's record €440m seizure at Dunlough Bay in west Cork.
The drugs were on a 60-foot yacht that was taken into custody around 200 miles off the southwest coast last night.
The boat is being brought to shore in Cork under armed guard and is due ashore tomorrow morning.
Three men between the ages of 44 and 52 have been detained by gardaí and the investigation is continuing.
They are being questioned at garda stations in Bantry and Bandon.
The seizure is the result of a Joint Task Force operation code-named Seabight that has been ongoing for for a number of weeks.
Ireland was one of seven EU member states that established the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre Against Narcotics in Lisbon in Portugal last year.
The yacht carrying the drugs was tracked across the Atlantic by that centre, leading to last night's seizure.
Ireland's contribution to the operation of the centre is less than €250,000 per year. It looks as if that investment has already been repaid with rich dividends.
The Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea has congratulated the Naval Service on the success of this operation.
He said 'It is a timely reminder to us all of the dangers the Naval Service confronts in the assistance it gives to the gardaí and Customs Assets in respect of drug interdiction.
'It is also clear evidence that Ireland has a Naval Service that is a multi-skilled, highly-trained force.'
The Justice Minister, Dermot Ahern, has also congratulated the Joint Drugs Task Force on the operation.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen tonight congratulated all those involved in the operation.
'I want to congratulate and compliment all those involved for their professionalism and dedication to duty, a massive drugs haul like this should not be seen just in terms of the hundreds of millions of euro of drugs seized, but also in terms of the lives saved and the misery avoided as a result,' he said.
'The Government is working hard to rid our cities and towns from the scourge of drug addiction and the crimes associated with drug trafficking.
'Today is a success but we must not become complacent, constant vigilance must be maintained.'
