Kitty Holland
The largest single seizure of ecstasy in the history of the State was among three major hauls by the Garda over the weekend.
The seizure of 500,000 ecstasy tablets with a street value of €5 million was made at Mountrath, Co Laois, on Friday. It was among the largest drugs seizures carried out by gardaí. The haul was a joint operation between the Garda National Drugs Unit and the Cork divisional drugs unit.
The drugs were seized after detectives stopped a van at Mountrath. A 31-year-old man was arrested at the scene and detained at Mayfield station in Cork. It is believed the drugs were destined for sale in Cork.
On Saturday night, a 33-year-old man was arrested in Bray, Co Wicklow, following the recovery of €145,000 worth of cocaine. The seizure followed the search of a house in the Oldcourt area of the town. A small amount of cannabis and drug dealing equipment were also seized.
The arrested man is said not to be from the town but to have been living there for a few years. He is being held for questioning under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act. He can be held for up to a week.
On Saturday morning two men were arrested in the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin in connection with the seizure of €60,000 worth of heroin. The drugs were recovered by the Ballyfermot Garda Drugs Unit during a search of a house on Spiddal Road.
The two men, aged 23 and 17, were brought to Ballyfermot Garda station where they were released following questioning. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A Garda spokesman said the three large seizures were not co-ordinated but "a coincidence" and the result of continued surveillance and intelligence-gathering by both local drugs units and the Garda National Drugs Unit.
The seizure of €5 million worth of ecstasy marks one of the largest single hauls in the history of the State.
The largest single seizure last year was of 1.6 tonnes of cannabis with a street value of €20 million, seized during a raid on a warehouse in Swords, north Dublin.
In December €3.5 million worth of drugs, including cocaine, 1 kg of heroin and 30,000 ecstasy tablets, were seized following a search of a lorry on the Old Airport Road in Santry, north Dublin.
The value of drugs seized in one year exceeded €100 million for the first time last year, marking significant increases on the €48 million worth seized in 2002 and the €20 million worth seized in 2000.