Two gardai involved in fighting Irish crime gangs in Spain have been honoured by Spanish police.
The detectives, Detective Superintendent Seamus Boland, of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and a garda liaison officer who cannot be identified were honoured.
The gardai were honoured by Guardia Civil with the Merit Order Cross of the Guardia Civil.
A garda spokesman said the La Crus de la Orden del Merito de la Guardia "in recognition of collaboration by An Garda Síochána with the Guardia Civil relating to investigations associated with organised crime".
The spokesman said the ceremony was part of the 175 year anniversary of the Guardia Civil.
He said: "The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Guardia Civil, in Mallorca, Spain. Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, Special Crime Operations (SCO) was a guest of the Guardia Civil at this event and was present for the awarding of the ‘Merit Order Cross of the Guardia Civil’.
"The awards reflect the positive outcome to ongoing collaboration between An Garda Síochána and the Guardia Civil relating to investigations associated with organised crime with an Irish dimension.
"This includes assistance provided by An Garda Síochána in a case which involved the conviction of James Quinn, 35, at a court in Malaga, Spain, in June 2018, in relation to the murder of Gary Hutch and illegal weapons possession, with jurors ruling he had been a lookout and getaway driver when Gary Hutch was killed, in Malaga, in September 2015."
The Garda National Drugs and organised Crime Bureau was established in March 2015 and is involved in Special Crime Operations.
The unit has been involved in the seizure of almost 100 weapons (97) including 11 machine-guns; seven assault rifles; eight shotguns; 55 handguns, five rifles, along with 11 stun-guns. In excess of 3,000 rounds of ammunition have been seized by GNDOCB also.
More than 50 lives have been saved and investigations through GNDOCB since March 2015 have also resulted in the seizure of cash of almost €8.5 million and the seizure of controlled substances with a street value of €155 million.
