Properties in Laois searched in €8.2m drugs raids
Some of the drugs worth over €8m that were seized during the garda operation in Laois and four other counties. Photo: An Garda Síochána
PROPERTIES in Laois were searched as part of a major garda operation that seized drugs worth more than €8 million this week.
The two-day operation targeting organised crime carried out raids in the midland counties of Laois, Offaly and Westmeath, together with Dublin and Meath.
A total of 60 garda personnel were involved in the operation, with search warrants executed at 16 properties across Laois and four other counties.
During the searches on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 October, gardaí seized over 110kgs of cocaine and 1.5kgs of heroin, with an estimated street value of €8.2 million.
The drugs were recovered from two vans seized during the operation and will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for analysis. Additionally, cash totalling £38,000 sterling and €63,000 was confiscated.
Gardaí said the coordinated raids in the three midlands counties, as well as Meath, South Dublin and West Dublin, were aimed at dismantling ‘a well-structured criminal organisation involved in large-scale drug distribution’, as part of ongoing investigations into organised criminal activity linked to drug trafficking.
The operation was led by the Terenure Drugs Unit, with support from the Serious Crime Unit Terenure, the DMR South Divisional Crime and Community Engagement Units, the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT), the DMR Armed Support Unit and the Stolen Car Unit of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI).
One man, aged in his 40s, was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking offences as a result of the drug seizures. He has been detained for questioning under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at a garda station in the Dublin region.
Gardaí confirmed that investigations are ongoing following the operation.
