Man in 80s held after cannabis find

A man in his early 80s was one of two people arrested after gardaí discovered “sophisticated cannabis growhouses” in a remote part of North Cork which contained drugs with a street value of €265,000.

Drugs squad detectives swooped on two houses less than a mile apart in the Kanturk area shortly before 9am yesterday.

They discovered a garage attached to one house and a number of sheds at the other property had been converted into grow houses, containing heating, lighting, and watering equipment.

A Garda source said that in total they discovered 280 cannabis plants, the vast majority of which were mature and ready for harvesting.

“We also discovered 2kg of harvested cannabis grass,” he said.

The second man arrested is understood to be in his mid-50s.

Both men were taken to Kanturk Garda Station where they were being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

Just two days before, members of the same drugs unit made another unusual seizure when they stopped a car near the village of Rathcoole.

They found €42,000 of mephedrone, a synthetic stimulant drug which has similar effects to speed or ecstasy.

The drug was previously sold at former head shops, but has become more scarce since they were closed by the Government a few years ago.

Two men in their 50s were arrested at the scene by gardaí. One was from the Mallow area and the other from Millstreet.

They were subsequently released without charge from Bandon Garda Station and a file is being prepared for the DPP.

Gardaí said the growhouse discovery yesterday was not related to the Rathcoole arrests.