Gardaí seize drugs with street value of €400,000

GARDAÍ confirmed yesterday they had made drug seizures totalling €400,000 in Cork, one of which was the largest haul of heroin in the city this year.

Acting on information, drugs squad officers followed a man in his late 20s to an open area in Shanakiel yesterday morning where they discovered a bag containing heroin. The man, described as a local, was arrested at the scene and taken to Gurranabraher Garda Station for questioning.

Detectives from the Cork City Drugs Squad, based in Anglesea Street, and drug squad officers from Gurranabraher then went to a nearby house frequented by the man where a search revealed another quantity of heroin.

Superintendent Con Cadogan said the two hauls of heroin had a total street value of approximately €200,000.

He said the rise in heroin seizures in the city was worrying.

Supt Cadogan added that detectives were also carrying out follow-up searches at other houses in the area which had an association with the arrested man.

Supt Cadogan said the man was known to gardaí and he was being detained under section 2 of the Drugs Trafficking Act. Under this legislation the man can be detained without charge for up to seven days.

Meanwhile, Supt Cadogan confirmed that a man walking his dog had discovered 20,000 ecstasy tablets in Ballincollig.

It appears that the dog began rooting in undergrowth at Carriganarra, Ballincollig, last Saturday. The dog’s owner then discovered a plastic bag containing the ecstasy tablets, which had a street value of approximately €200,000.

The man alerted gardaí. The tablets were removed to Anglesea Street Garda Station before being transferred to Garda Headquarters in Dublin for analysis.

It is believed the drugs had been stashed there for safekeeping. It is likely the drugs were for use on the Cork market only and their owner would have come to Carriganarra to pick up orders when he needed to.

No arrests have been made.