Massive heroin and cocaine seizure linked to Collopy gang in Limerick, say sources

A drugs haul, worth nearly €1million euro, which was discovered in a house in Tipperary, is linked to the Collopy criminal gang in Limerick city, garda sources said, writes David Raleigh.

Heroin and cocaine worth an estimated €850,000 was found by officers who raided a house in Resika, Kilcommon, Thurles, on Wednesday, March 8.

One man, aged 45, was arrested as part of the planned garda operation.

The suspect who, it has been confirmed, is a native of Limerick city was still being questioned on Thursday, at Thurles garda station.

The man is being detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking Act) 1996 -- the Act allows gardaí to question suspects for up to seven days without charge.

The man has close links with the Collopys, reliable sources said.

"He has ties with the Collopys. He was living in St Mary's Park...He's been living in Limerick all his life," they added.

Another source said: "There is a Limerick connection. You only have to look at the amount of drugs involved...This has very little to do with Thurles."

An official garda statement said: "As part of Operation Thor, Gardaí from Thurles and Gardaí from other Garda Districts in Tipperary searched a house at Reiska, Kilcommon, Thurles."

"During the course of the search Gardaí discovered a quantity of controlled substances including heroin and cocaine with an approximate street value of €850,000 (subject to analysis)."

"One male was arrested and is being detained."

The Collopys have been involved in the drugs business in Limerick for years. They rose to prominence in the criminal underworld after the Limerick gang feud erupted in 2000 when Eddie Ryan snr was shot dead in the Moose Bar.

Their associate Kieran Keane, later murdered by the Dundon McCarthy gang in 2003, along with Philip Collopy, who later accidentally shot himself in the head, were the main suspects for Ryan's murder.

The current leaders of the Collopy gang, brothers Brian and Kieran Collopy, were each jailed for eight years last July. They both pleaded guilty to possessing nearly €40,000 worth of heroin for sale or supply on December 15, 2015.

Gardaí caught the brothers at a house located in their stronghold of St Mary's Park, packing the heroin into batches to be sold to wholesalers, ten days before Christmas.

Five days earlier, the Limerick siblings, who had been under garda surveillance, were observed meeting associates of Dublin drug lord George "Penguin" Mitchell, at a Supermacs outlet in Portlaoise.

Gardaí believe, despite their jail sentences, that the Collopy brothers continue to head up their drugs business from behind bars.