Five questioned over €10m drugs seizures

GARDAÍ questioned five people yesterday in connection with two of the largest seizures of cannabis and cocaine in recent years.

In separate operations, law enforcement officers seized 1.2 tonnes of cannabis and 25kg of cocaine in Kildare and Dublin.

The cannabis haul, estimated to be valued at around €8.5 million, is thought to be the single biggest seizure of the drug in least three years.

The cocaine seizure, with a street value of around €1.75m, is the third largest haul of the drug in the last three years.

Garda figures suggest that this year at least 1.7 tonnes of cannabis, worth around €12m, has been confiscated. And officers have seized more than 90kg of cocaine, with an estimated street value of over €6m. In the first operation on Tuesday, the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) and local officers raided a house in the Coolock area of North Dublin.

The 25kg of cocaine were found in the house and in a car outside.

A 34-year-old man was arrested. He was due to be charged yesterday at Dublin District Court.

Later on Tuesday, an ongoing operation involving the GNDU, the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Customs, resulted in a haul of 1.2 tonnes of cannabis in Carbury, Co Kildare.

Four people, including a Spanish truck driver, were arrested at the scene.

One of the four is a well-known suspected dealer in the Blanchardstown area of North-West Dublin, with his own local supply network.

Gardaí said the man behind the operation, also based in West Dublin, runs a major multi-million euro drugs operation.

Officers said that although the haul was massive it would not substantially affect the gang’s operation.

The cannabis was contained in carefully constructed compartments on the roof of an articulated truck.

The truck had arrived through Rosslare Harbour and was followed to Carbury.