Gardaí seize over €9m worth of drugs and cigarettes

OVER €9 million in drugs and cigarettes were seized in separate raids and searches by gardaí and customs officials over the weekend.

The drug finds across Dublin have led to a number of court appearances.

On Friday, €1.4 million in cannabis was found in a home in Clontarf. Members with the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) found 180kg of resin at the Clontarf Bay residence. During the raid, gardaí also discovered a quantity of child pornographic material. Three men were arrested at the scene during the raids.

Later that evening, heroin worth €5.2 million was discovered by gardaí in Tallaght. During a planned raid of a house, a total 26kg of the drug was found at the residence on Colberts Fort Road. Two men and a woman in their 20s were arrested by the local drugs unit. They can be held for up to seven days.

The millions of euro in heroin seized is the first major drugs haul for gardaí since the New Year.

Early on Saturday morning, firearms and drugs were among items discovered by gardaí conducting a separate search on the Malahide Road at a Traveller facility. Gardaí recovered the drugs stored in biscuit tins and containers in the grounds of vacant buildings at the site.

Up to 40 gardaí, including detectives from Coolock and the garda dog unit, searched a premises on Grove Lane at 8am. Up to 6.5kg of cocaine and half a kilo of herb cannabis were found, with a potential street value of €500,000.

A small quantity of ammunition was discovered along with a revolver and a pistol seized as well as a car holding drugs. Stolen property was also recovered, including industrial tools and DVD players. Two men were arrested and later taken to Coolock garda station.

Following the weekend operations by gardaí, a number of court appearances were set.

One man, 26, appeared at a Dublin District Court sitting on Saturday in connection with the Clontarf raid. Another man, 35, was charged with and released on bail to appear in court on January 23. A third man, 37, was released without charge and a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Following the Coolock seizures, a man in his early 20s was charged and is expected to appear at district court sitting tomorrow.

Meanwhile, up to €2 million contraband cigarettes were seized by customs and revenue officials in Louth on Saturday night. The haul was made outside Dundalk as part of an ongoing operation in the area. No arrests were made but the operation is still ongoing.