€8.1m cocaine haul seized in Co Laois

The 116kg cocaine haul, valued at approximately €8.1m, which was seized following a search operation in Co Laois.

Gardaí have seized more than €8m worth of cocaine following the search of a home and lands in Co Laois today.

Officers from the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau carried out the search as part of Operation Tara.

The 116kg of cocaine valued at approximately €8.1m was recovered, along with a number of electronic devices.

One man in his 30s was arrested under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

He is being held at a Laois Garda station.

A spokesperson said the drugs seized will be forwarded to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for analysis.

Following the operation, Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland, head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, said: "An Garda Síochána will continue to focus our resources on those who collaborate with and facilitate organised crime. 

"We are determined to continue dismantling drug-trafficking routes into Ireland, and will continue doing our part to keep our communities safer. Please think before you use."

Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, was launched by the Garda Commissioner in July 2021.

The focus of Operation Tara is to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute drug trafficking networks, at all levels — international, national, local— involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale, and supply of controlled drugs.