Gardaí stage crackdown on drug dealers

Gardaí in Dublin today launched a major crackdown on drug dealers.

They were targeting more than 100 people who sold them drugs during an undercover operation on the streets of the city over recent weeks.

Operation Cleanstreet was set up by the Garda National Drugs Unit in response to the growing drugs menace.

Undercover officers spent six weeks buying heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis from street dealers all over the city.

Today they started going back to pick up the people they had identified as dealers during the undercover operation.

Operation Cleanstreet also identified Thomas Street, Meath Street and parts of Ballyfermot and Clondalkin as drug blackspots.

Eight pubs were also pinpointed as places where drugs could be bought.

A Garda spokeswoman said an initial four arrests were made when the arrest operation started during the afternoon, but stressed it was continuing.