Huge cocaine haul seized at suspected drugs factory

Gardaí tonight seized cocaine worth around €2.5m at a suspected cocaine factory in north Dublin.

Detectives from the National Drug Unit and Santry and Pearse Street Garda Stations raided an apartment in the Addison Park estate in Glasnevin at 1.30pm.

They seized 30kg of cocaine and a mixing agent, as well as a substantial quantity of cash.

The apartment is believed to have been used by a criminal gang for the mixing and distribution of cocaine around Dublin.

A Garda spokesman said one man was arrested at the scene, while another was arrested in Eastwall at 2.30pm.

Both men are in their 30s and are being detained under section two of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act in Whitehall and Santry Garda Stations.

The recently built Addison Park estate is situated on the grounds of a former Convent and its townhouses and apartments overlook the Tolka River.

Earlier this week, a 32-year old man was charged at Swords District Court in Dublin in connection with the discovery of €800,000 of cocaine and around €1m in cash at an apartment in Balbriggan in Dublin.

The cocaine industry in Ireland is worth some €160m annually, with an estimated two tonnes of the drug being smuggled into the country every year.

Last year, 220 kg of cocaine were seized in Ireland.