Gardai in counties Laois and Cork arrested four men last night as part of investigations carried out under Operation Anvil.
Two were arrested at a checkpoint near Abbeyleix at 9.30pm. The men, aged 24 and 21, were stopped at Knocknamoe, Abbeyleix, and were arrested following the discovery of €14,000 in cash. In a follow up search of the area gardaí discovered a quantity of cocaine with a potential street value of €70,000.
The men are being detained in Abbeyleix garda station and can be held for up to seven days under the Drug Trafficking Act.
Earlier in the evening, Gardaí in Cork detained two men who were arrested at Rathgoggin North Charville after a quantity of cannabis resin was found during a search.
The men, aged 39 and 25, are being held in Charleville Garda Station under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act and can be held for up to seven days.
Operation Anvil was established in response to rising levels of armed crime in Dublin in the first half of 2005 and was extended to the rest of the country at the start of the year.