Fifty scramblers and e-scooters have been seized as part of a Garda operation targeting the sale and supply of drugs and related criminal activity in west Dublin.
Eighteen residential properties were searched on Friday in Finglas, Cabra and Blanchardstown as part of Operation Meacán.
The force said 29 scramblers, 21 e-scooters, three e-bikes, three quad bikes and a mini-motorcycle were seized during the “day of action”.
Quantities of drugs, cash and a number of weapons such as swords were also found during the searches.
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“A total of €20,720 of controlled drugs was seized during the course of this operation, including cannabis with an estimated value of €16,020, €1,000 worth of alprazolam tablets and €3,500 worth of crack cocaine,” An Garda Síochána said in a statement.
“A man aged in his 20s who was arrested has since been charged and is due to appear before the courts at a later date.”
Earlier in the week, gardaí seized 44 illegal bikes and scramblers in a “day of action” in Ballymun.
The use of scramblers in public places has come back into focus since Grace Lynch (16) was fatally injured when she was hit by one of the bikes as she crossed a road in Finglas last month.
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien on Tuesday met Grace’s parents Siobhán and Martin Lynch to discuss new laws governing the use of scramblers.
O’Brien said afterwards he expected regulations banning the use of scramblers in public places would be introduced within “a matter of weeks”.
“I would certainly like to see the regulations in March. I think we can do that,” he said, adding that his department’s lawyers were working on a legal definition of “scrambler” and on other areas of the planned law.
Speaking after the meeting, Siobhán Lynch said she was “so happy my little girl did not die in vain” and that she hoped she would “never ever see a scrambler on these roads again”.
Scrambler use is already illegal on public roads and in public places except in cases where the vehicle is properly registered and is not being driven dangerously.
The new law is expected to explicitly prohibit the use of such vehicles anywhere that is not captured by the existing definition of a public place – with the Government giving the example of car parks.
Gardaí currently have powers to seize any vehicles being driven dangerously or without insurance, motor tax or registration, or by a driver without a licence.
[ New scrambler proposals will remove ‘ambiguity’ about their use, Government saysOpens in new window ]
