Gardaí dismantle two cannabis grow houses

GARDAÍ have dismantled two more cannabis grow houses in separate operations in Louth and Laois.

The seizures come as drug treatment groups warn of a jump in young males seeking treatment for addiction to skunk — a powerful form of cannabis grass cultivated in grow houses.

In the latest such seizure, gardaí from the Louth Drugs Unit raided a house in the village of Collon in Co Louth. The raid came after an intelligence-led operation.

In a garage adjoining the house they found a sophisticated growing operation.

Provisional estimates suggest the garage could contain up to 500 cannabis plants at various stages of growth. The estimated street value is about €250,000.

The house and garage, located on a rural road between Collon and Drogheda, remain sealed off.

Gardaí have removed the plants and are dismantling the growing and electrical systems in place.

A 43-year-old Chinese national was arrested in the house and was brought to Drogheda Garda Station.

In a separate operation targeting organised crime groups, officers from the Garda National Drug Unit dismantled a grow house near Portarlington, Co Laois.

They found 1,500 plants with an estimated street value of over €600,000, along with heat, lighting and irrigation systems in a shed on Thursday.

The four — two Irishmen and an Asian man and woman — are being questioned at Tullamore Garda Station.

Garda sources said the two Irishmen were not considered to be significant players in the criminal world. Sources said they were part of an organised crime group being targeted by the GNDU.

“The gang is from the Dublin area and are a loose group of criminals,” said a garda source. He said the situation was fluid and that the investigation was ongoing.

He also said the combination of Irish and Asian criminals was not unusual and had developed over recent years.

The source said this followed a similar pattern in the North and Britain, where local criminals joined together with Chinese and Vietnamese gangs to manufacture cannabis.

Gardaí said the cannabis seized was for domestic consumption. Cannabis grass has taken over from cannabis resin within the last two years as the main type of cannabis smoked in Ireland.

A leading addiction service told an Oireachtas committee on Thursday they were seeing more young men addicted to skunk, a strong form of grass.

Dr Fiona Weldon of the Rutland Centre said they were “seriously concerned” at this emerging trend. She said grass was two-to three times stronger than resin.

She said in “many cases” the men were experiencing “psychotic episodes” including paranoia, and that detoxification took longer.