Gardaí hold three men over cocaine seizures

GARDAÍ HAVE seized cocaine and crack cocaine valued at more than €1 million and have discovered a cocaine-processing facility in three search operations in west Dublin.

Three men are being detained in connection with the seizures.

In one of the operations, gardaí raided a house in the Blakestown area of Blanchardstown and found cocaine with an estimated street value of more than €1 million.

Detectives believe the property, at Canterbury Gate, was being used as a cocaine mixing facility. The search team found blenders and glucose-based mixing agents at the house.

Glucose is usually mixed with cocaine in blenders to bulk up the drug to maximise profits.

A compression machine was also found. Gardaí believe it was being used to parcel cocaine into blocks for sale to other crime gangs. About 50 compressed blocks of the drug in plastic covering and wrapped in heavy duty brown tape were found at the house.

A 27-year-old man was arrested at the scene on Thursday night. He was taken to Finglas Garda station and is still being held there under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act. In two unrelated operations earlier on Thursday, gardaí seized crack cocaine valued at €40,000 and cocaine valued at €70,000.

The kilo of crack cocaine was found when gardaí searched a house at Kippure Park, Finglas.

A 27-year-old man was arrested and taken to Finglas Garda station. He has since been released and is due to appear before the courts on November 27th.

The kilo of cocaine was found when gardaí stopped a car at Woodville Road, Clonsilla. A 40-year-old man driving the car was arrested.

He was being held last night at Blanchardstown Garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act.

All three raids were carried out by drug unit members and detectives from Blanchardstown Garda station.

Garda sources said that while the men arrested are not leading gang figures they would be regarded as “medium players” in gangs supplying cocaine to much of the west Dublin market.

They said the seizure of the compressing equipment had disrupted the activities of a Blanchardstown gang in the run-up to the busy Christmas drug-dealing period.