Two arrested following €6.9m drugs seizure in Co Kilkenny

Gardaí recovered cannabis with an estimated street value in excess of €6.9 million. Picture: An Garda Síochána

Two men are in custody after a massive haul of cannabis worth almost €7m was uncovered in Co Kilkenny.

Officers attached to the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, assisted by Revenue Commissioners Customs Service and officers from the Eastern Region, searched a business premises at Ballyhale, Co Kilkenny on Monday and recovered cannabis with an estimated street value in excess of €6.9m.

A Garda spokesperson said two males, one aged in his 30s and the other in his 40s, were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and are currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996, at Kilkenny Garda Station.

The arrests followed an intelligence-led Garda operation, targeting transnational drug trafficking networks, which was conducted in the course of Operation TARA, the focus of which is to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute drug trafficking networks.

It's understood it is the biggest drugs haul of the year so far, overtaking the seizure of €4.6m worth of cocaine in Leopardstown in Dublin last month.

That investigation was also carried out by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, and also involved the Spanish police.