Value of drugs haul estimated at €11m

One of Ireland's major drug trafficking gangs was dealt a devastating blow today as detectives seized an €11m cannabis haul.

Four men - one of them suspected of being a significant player in the underworld trade - were arrested during the operation in Co Kildare and Dublin.

Detectives swooped on a van and a car travelling towards the capital at around 7.15am outside the village of Kill, on the main N7 dual carriageway.

The van was packed with 500 kilos - around half a tonne - of cannabis - which gardaí believe was destined for other significant drug dealers in the city.

Two men were arrested at the scene while gardaí uncovered another 1,000 kilos of cannabis in a shed beside a rural cottage in Co Kildare during follow-up raids.

The shed at Clongorey, near Newbridge, is believed to have been used by the drugs gang as a central distribution centre.

The owner of the property and another man were also arrested during the operation, spearheaded by the Garda National Drugs Unit.

Three guns were also seized in the searches, a single barrelled shotgun, a pump-action shotgun and a rifle with a telescopic sight.

The weapons will be taken away for ballistic examinations and gardaí will also check if they are legally held.

Three searches were also carried out in Dublin in the north inner city and also in the northern suburbs.

The four arrested men - three aged in their mid-30s and one in his mid-40s - are being interrogated at Naas and Newbridge garda stations under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act.

Three of the men have addresses in North Strand and Ballymun, north Dublin while another man, from Coolock, also in north Dublin, is suspected of being a significant trafficker.

One senior Garda source said the gang were among the most prominent traffickers in the country.

"They are significant. We don't know if they are the biggest or not but they are very significant in the amount that they were importing and distributing," the source said.

The massive shipment is believed to have come into Ireland from north Africa and through mainland Europe within the last two weeks.

Such a large haul would have been crucial to the ongoing operation of the gang, it is believed.

Detectives are now trying to establish if the haul is linked to a seizure of 130 kilos of cannabis believed to be worth around €1m in Ballyfermot, west Dublin, last Friday.

Superintendent Kevin Donohue, from the Garda Press Office, said a key supply chain had been disrupted.

"It's a huge find. We are satisfied that it has upset a key distribution channel," he said.

"We are happy that we are right in the middle of a fairly decent supply chain."