Man to appear in court in connection with drugs bust

A MAN is due to appear in court this morning in connection with the discovery of a cocaine factory in Dublin on Friday night.

Two other men, who were also arrested as part of the drugs and guns bust, were still being questioned last night.

As part of Operation Anvil, a huge crackdown on organised crime, gardaí raided a warehouse in an industrial estate in Walkinstown, south Dublin on Friday. They uncovered about 7kg of cocaine, worth an estimated €500,000 on the street, depending on forensic analysis. Officers found other signs of a cocaine factory, including vacuuming machines and pressing equipment.

Gardaí also located six firearms, including two full-length shotguns, a sawn-off shotgun and two Glock semi-automatic pistols in the lock-up on Greenhills Road.

Ammunition and cash were also seized.

Two men were arrested at the scene by armed gardaí and taken to Pearse Street Garda Station, where they were held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

In a linked raid, officers searched a house in Clondalkin, west Dublin, where they found a small amount of drugs, as well as a fully loaded automatic Glock pistol.

They arrested a 28-year-old man, who will appear in court this morning. He was charged yesterday at Pearse Street Station under Section 27(a) of the Firearms Act and Section 3 and 15 of the Drug Trafficking Act.

The two other men remained in Pearse Street Station late last night.

A fourth man arrested in a house in Tallaght, west Dublin, on Friday night, was released from custody on Saturday night.