Drug seizure deals major blow to Limerick gang

A notorious Limerick drugs gang has been dealt a major blow after gardaí seized €1.4m worth of cannabis on the outskirts of the city.

Up to 200kg of cannabis was discovered following a garda raid on Monday night at Rathuard, Ballysheedy in Co Limerick.

The drugs were found shortly after 8pm stashed in a vehicle and hidden in open ground near a partly built house in the area.

This latest haul brings to €2.5m the total amount of drugs seized in Limerick so far this year - the same figure for the whole of last year.

Garda sources described this latest haul as "very significant" in terms of the ongoing battle against drug trafficking by a southside based gang operating in the Limerick region.

The drugs had been secured by the gang and were destined for sale on the streets of Limerick.

Earlier this year gardaí seized €500,000 worth of ecstasy tablets in a vehicle travelling from Dublin to Limerick also destined for the same gang.

"This lastest haul is very significant and will be a blow to a certain south side gang involved in drug trafficking in the Limerick region," said a garda source.

"The total amount of drugs seized so far this year in Limerick is now €2.5m the same figure for the entire of last year. The majority of the drugs seized have been cannabis but cocaine and ecstasy has also been found," he added.

Just last month gardai in Limerick seized €1.3m worth of cannabis in two separate hauls.

On May 15, a 42-year-old Dublin man was stopped at Birdhill on the outskirts of Limerick with over €1m worth of cannabis in his vehicle.

Two weeks earlier €300,000 worth of cannabis was recovered on farmland in Meelick in Co Clare, also on the outskirts of Limerick city.

No arrests have been made in connection with the latest discovery and the drugs have been sent to Dublin for forensic examination.