Eighteen people have appeared before Tallaght District Court on drugs-related charges following a series of Garda raids on more than 30 houses in the Tallaght area yesterday.
Fifteen men and three women were charged with offences including simple possession and/or possession with intent for sale or supply of heroin or cocaine.
All but three of those who appeared before Judge James Paul McDonnell were released on bail. All are due to appear again before the court within the next five weeks.
Yesterday's Garda activity forms part of an anti-drugs operation in the area, entitled Operation Fossil, primarily targeted at street dealers of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine.
It involves undercover gardaí buying drugs from suspected dealers. These are then sent for analysis to determine their content.
A list of locations to be searched and individuals to be targeted is subsequently drawn up based on the evidence gathered by these undercover gardaí.
Yesterday's joint operation between the Garda National Drugs Unit and officers from the Tallaght district drugs unit involved about 100 gardaí, with the first "swoop" occurring shortly after 6am.
A spokesman for the Garda Press Office said more than 30 houses in the Tallaght area were searched during the morning, resulting in the seizure of several small quantities of heroin, cash and an air pistol.
Gardaí arrested 15 people at the time, but by yesterday afternoon this total stood at 18.
The individuals who were arrested were held at a number of Garda stations including Tallaght, Rathfarnham, Rathmines, Terenure, Sundrive Road and Clondalkin.
The court yesterday heard that the arrests related to seizures of relatively small amounts of cocaine and/or heroin at the addresses in question, as well as at other locations.
The vast majority of those arrested were unemployed, with most also seeking legal aid. In nearly all cases, the court was told, the defendants made no reply when charged.
Several of those who appeared before the court were found to have outstanding bench warrants in relation to other matters, the court also heard.
Last September, gardaí in west Dublin arrested 30 people as part of the four-month Operation Marigold, which targeted the heroin trade in that area of the city.
During the operation, a team of 150 gardaí raided 40 premises in west Dublin over two days. Cocaine, heroin, cannabis, a firearm and a quantity of cash were seized.
The combined value of the drugs seized was estimated at €30,000. About €4,000 in cash was also found along with drug paraphernalia, such as bags used to pack small deals.
Members of the Criminal Assets Bureau who joined the raids also found a safe containing financial records in one house.
Separately, a Swedish passport-holder was arrested in Dublin airport at the weekend on charges relating to the smuggling of 80 pellets of cocaine estimated to be worth €56,000.
The 31-year-old man was questioned by Customs officers after he arrived on a flight from Amsterdam on Saturday.
He was found to have swallowed 800 grammes of the drug. Customs officers said he was the third person caught at Dublin airport this year trying to smuggle drugs by swallowing them.