Gardaí investigating Limerick drug traffickers seize heroin worth €1.3m

A man in his 40s was arrested after officers searched another location

Heroin worth more than €1.3m has been seized in a garda operation based in Limerick.

The discovery was made during a series of searches on Friday in Corbally in Limerick city and Clonlara in Clare, by gardaí attached to the Limerick Divisional Drug Unit, supported by gardaí from Mayorstone, Regional Dog Unit and members of the Defence Forces.

Nobody was arrested at the site of the find, according to a garda spokesman.

However, a short time later, a further search carried out in an undisclosed location resulted in the seizure of €12,500. A man in his 40s was arrested at the scene and he was taken to Henry Street garda station in Limerick city for questioning. He was being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 on Friday evening.

The drugs seized in Corbally and Clonlara will now be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis to establish purity and the exact value of the seizure.

The searches were carried out under Operation Tara, a garda initiative set up in July 2021 to spearhead garda drug enforcement.

A garda spokesman said: “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.” 

He said investigations into the latest seizure are ongoing.