An Garda Síochána has signed a deal with the Colombian National Police to help crack down on drug trafficking and organised crime.

The agreement will formalise how the forces officially share information and co-operate on investigations into drug distribution and serious organised crime.

The Garda cited the deal as a “significant milestone” in increasing interpolice force co-operation to help fight against organised crime and international drug trafficking.

“An Garda Síochána is determined to play our part internationally in combating the deadly and harmful impacts that transnational organised crime groups inflict on communities,” the Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said in a statement.

Kelly said the Garda now had ties with various international law enforcement agencies.

The Garda worked closely with Dubai Police in the extradition of alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan from the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, following on from a formal extradition treaty signed in late 2024 between the two states.

It is understood that gardaí worked with Colombian law enforcement around the largest ever haul of cocaine seized in the Republic, the €157 million of cocaine found aboard MV Matthew in September 2023.

Gardaí worked with international law enforcement to investigate links to a Colombian cartel.

Kelly said the agreement was “another step in demonstrating and strengthening that close international co-operation, disrupting degrading and dismantling transnational organised crime groups”

“The co-operation comes at a time when organised crime groups continue to exploit international supply chains and transportation networks to facilitate the movement of illicit drugs.”

The Garda said the agreement reflected the “strong and growing relationship” between gardaí and the Colombian National Police in recent years and would create a formalised structure for information sharing and working together to tackle serious and organised crime.

The agreement will support ongoing investigations into organised criminal activity, allowing for joint operations and to allow for the exchange of critical intelligence.

General William Oswaldo Rincón, director general of the National Police of Colombia, said the agreement would allow the two forces to “exchange criminal intelligence regarding transnational crime and serious offences affecting both nations”.

The two police forces have visited each other’s jurisdictions over a number of years.