A man was arrested by gardai who found drugs worth more than £4 million in his car when he was stopped at a routine bank holiday weekend checkpoint on Saturday night. There were 230,000 ecstasy tablets which it is believed were destined for distribution in Dublin. Gardai also recovered 103kg of cannabis resin.
The 37-year-old man, who is unemployed, is being detained under the Drug Trafficking Act at Drogheda Garda station. The Director of Public Prosecutions will decide later today whether he will appear before a special court sitting or be released without charge pending the preparation of a file.
The checkpoint was in operation as part of extra measures put in place every bank holiday weekend to reduce accidents. The driver of the car was stopped around 9.30 p.m. just north of Delvin Bridge on the Balbriggan/east Meath border. Gardai asked him if he had his driving licence or any documents on him.
"It was the driver's demeanour that led to the search of the car and the discovery of a quantity of drugs on the back seat and in the boot", said Garda Supt Fergus Doggitt. It is understood that an Operation Lifesaver garda spotted a number of hold-alls on the back seat and asked the driver to open the boot, where a box containing vacuum-packed slabs of cannabis resin was found.
The driver was immediately arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act and Drug Trafficking Act and brought to Drogheda Garda station. He is not known to gardai for any involvement in drugs and claims he was on his way from Dublin to his home in Carlingford, Co Louth, when stopped. He was driving his own car, a 1990 Louth-registered white Renault 19.
The car and the drugs were being examined by gardai from the Technical Bureau and members of the National Drugs Unit yesterday. It is suspected that the drugs were destined for Dublin.
Last weekend gardai from the National Drugs Unit seized cannabis resin worth approximately £2 million near Ashbourne, Co Meath. It was destined for distribution in the north Dublin city area. Three Dublin men were arrested and appeared before Dunshaughlin District Court charged with possession of the drug for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to others.
Saturday's haul follows a number of recent successes by the Garda National Drugs Bureau and local drugs units.
More than £3 million worth of ecstasy and more than £10 million worth of cannabis and cannabis resin have been discovered so far this year. In 1996, the Garda seized only about £19 million worth of cannabis.
Among the major recent hauls were the following:
April 5th: Three people were arrested after at least £2 million worth of cannabis resin was seized in Ashbourne, Co Meath. Three men were later charged with possession with intention to supply.
February 27th: About £350,000 worth of ecstasy tablets were discovered by gardai using sniffer dogs in a wooded area in Kilmurray outside Cork.
February 20th: Some £5.3 million worth of amphetamines and cocaine was seized after a brief car chase near Celbridge, Co Kildare. The haul was a result of an investigation co-ordinated by officers of the Garda National Drugs Bureau.
February 6th: 40,000 ecstasy tablets were seized in Donaghmede, Dublin, along with a small quantity of heroin and cocaine. The full haul had an estimated street value of £400,000.
January 31st: £4.2 million worth of cannabis resin was seized at Kilcoran, near Cahir, Co Tipperary.