Two men were arrested last night after gardai seized £8 million worth of amphetamines and cocaine in Co Meath.
The seizure was made when gardai from the national drugs unit stopped a car on the Dublin to Galway road at Enfield at about 7 p.m. An Irishman was detained at the scene and a Dutch national suspected of involvement was arrested at another location.
Both were in custody at Kells Garda station, where they can be held for an initial 48 hours - and up to seven days with judicial approval - under drug trafficking legislation.
About 100kg of the drugs were found in boxes in the car. Most were believed to be amphetamines, which have a market value of about £80,000 a kilo. A Garda source said there were about 4kg of cocaine, which can fetch from £60,000 to £80,000 a kilo depending on purity. "The cocaine was probably worth about £250,000," said the source.
Some 50 ecstasy tablets were also found in the car. Tests were being carried out on the drugs last night.
A Garda team under the direction of Supt Kevin Carthy had been watching the movements of a suspect in the case for some time.
Detectives moved last night, intercepting the car as it headed out of Dublin in the direction of Galway.
The size of the haul indicates that a substantial portion of it was destined for foreign markets.