A haul of cocaine worth more than $5m has been found on a beach in Ireland

Ireland cocaine surprise: More than $5 million worth found in torpedo-like tube

By James Masters, CNN

Cocaine had been stuffed inside a torpedo-like canister that washed ashore on Ireland's west coast.
Cocaine had been stuffed inside a torpedo-like canister that washed ashore on Ireland's west coast.

(CNN)A picnic, an afternoon of kite flying and a drug haul worth more than $5 million -- it wasn't quite the day trip Michael Vaughan had bargained for when he and his family headed to the beach.

Three months after Vaughan came across a strange-looking, 2.5-meter-long torpedo-like canister that washed ashore near Liscannor, Ireland, authorities announced the discovery of 75 kilograms of cocaine worth a street value of 5 million euros ($5.4 million).

"The concealment may have been attached below the waterline of a cargo ship or other maritime vessel," read a statement Monday from the Revenue Customs Service. "However, it is not possible at this stage to say either where the drugs originated, or their intended destination."
Irish authorities made the discovery public Monday. They said it's unclear where the drugs originated.
Irish authorities made the discovery public Monday. They said it's unclear where the drugs originated.
Andrew Ryan, a Revenue enforcement manager, told CNN it was the first time Irish authorities had come across drugs inside such a torpedo-like object.
The discovery comes after Vaughan, a local hotelier, and his family first saw the torpedo on Kilmacreehy beach on Ireland's west coast at the end of August.