Gardaí have arrested and charged 70 people in a major crackdown on drug dealers in Dublin.
Officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) and local drugs units from stations all over Dublin carried out searches of more than 100 houses over the past 48 hours.
It is one of the biggest co-ordinated operations against street dealers in recent years, gardaí said.
The operation, named Operation Cellar, is the culmination of a four-month covert operation targeting low- to medium-level drug dealers. The operation was intended to target the distribution networks used by major drug dealers.
An imitation firearm, small quantities of cash as well as small quantities of ecstasy, heroin and cocaine were seized during the operation.
All 70 suspects – 64 men and six women – have been charged and have appeared in court. Those arrested form the nucleus of two major drugs networks in the city centre area, gardaí said.
One of those arrested was also charged in connection with a serious robbery offence.
The suspects range in age from late teens to their early 40s and live mostly in Dublin, with some from the border counties of Wicklow and Meath.
The GNDU said the operation was ongoing and that further arrests are expected in the coming days.
Det Supt Pat Byrne, head of operations at the GNDU, insisted the operation had dealt a serious blow to significant drug dealers in the city. “We’re very satisfied that two significant dealing operations have been taken out in this operation,” he said.
Additional reporting PA
