A man described by a senior garda as “a significant player” in the sale and supply of drugs in West Cork has been jailed.

A man found with cocaine and a weighing scales on his kitchen table when his home was raided by gardaí was caring for his baby son at the time.

Messages on a man’s phone showed that he was not only a drug dealer but was also involved in collecting drug debts, a judge has said.

Four people arrested and charged in connection with an alleged cocaine extraction laboratory will remain in Garda custody ahead of a court date next week.

The gang was being monitored locally by Cork drug units, nationally by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Customs, and internationally by the EU’s Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre.

Gardaí are carrying out a series of anti-drugs operations in North Cork as part of a follow up to seizing a consignment of suspected mephedrone.