Ketamine, an animal tranquiliser used for veterinary purposes in cattle and horses, was seized by Revenue officers yesterday (Tuesday, December 12) in Athlone, Co. Westmeath.
The ketamine, along with herbal cannabis, was seized in the midlands town and was discovered in parcels originating from the Netherlands and Spain which were destined for addresses in Dublin and Kildare.
The Revenue officers who examined the parcels at a premises in Athlone seized almost 3kg of ketamine and over 4.6kg of herbal cannabis with an estimated value of €266,000.
Revenue confirmed that “investigations are ongoing” and that the seizure is part of Revenue’s ongoing joint investigations targeting organised crime groups and the importation, sale and supply of illegal drugs.
Animal tranquiliser
Cattle are food producing animals and a limited number of drugs are licensed for use in these animals.
In Ireland, the European Commission Regulation No 37/2010 of December 22, 2009 regulates the drugs that can be administered for the treatment of hypotension in food producing animals, which includes ketamine.
The regulation also details pharmacologically active substances and their classification regarding maximum residue limits (MRL) in foodstuffs of animal origin.
This regulation, which was updated as recently as yesterday (December 12, 2023) by the EU, features whether substances have these MRLs.
A statement that no MRL is required is for substances where residues at the predicted levels do not pose a hazard to the health of the consumer.
There is currently no maximum residue limits for ketamine.
According to findings published by the Irish Veterinary Journal, methods to improve blood pressure in animals include the use of minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) sparing drugs, which include ketamine.
Findings from the University of Zurich published in March 2023 found that in most European countries, only ketamine, xylazine and detomidine are licensed as sedative and anaesthetic drugs in cattle.
However, it has been increasingly common for ketamine to be sold on the black market drugs trade for human consumption in combination with other drugs such as cocaine.