€40k worth of cocaine seized in Roscrea drugs bust

Cocaine with an estimated street value of €40,000 was seized in Co Tipperary on Thursday.

Gardaí swooped on four premises in the Roscrea area as part of an operation which is targeting the distribution of drugs there.

Four men were arrested and taken to Roscrea, Nenagh, Thurles, and Templemore Garda Stations where they were detained under section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.

Three of the men were released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The fourth man remains in custody at Templemore Garda station.

The seizure and arrests come as part of Operation Overwatch, which was set up to target those involved in the distribution of controlled drugs in the Roscrea area.

The Roscrea arrests follow the recovery of almost €5 million worth of cocaine and heroin in the Bluebell Industrial Estate in Clondalkin, Dublin last Tuesday in what gardaí have described as a “significant seizure”.