Several people are expected to appear in courts in Galway and Donegal in coming days after the separate seizures of large quantities of cannabis and ecstasy. Gardai in Galway are questioning four men and two women who have been held in custody since last Wednesday when cannabis and other drugs were seized in a flat in the Claremont area.
Local gardai estimated the drugs had a street value of over £100,000, making it one of the largest domestic drugs finds outside Dublin or Cork.
A senior garda involved in the case said the seizure illustrated the growing level of drug abuse outside the main cities.
The six being questioned in Galway were arrested under the Drugs Trafficking Act, introduced by the last government, which allows their detention without charge for up to seven days.
Also yesterday, a Donegal councillor called for the establishment of a special Garda drugs unit in the county following the seizure of of drugs at the weekend and the arrests of 17 people.
Expressing concern about the drugs problem, Cllr P.J. Blake said he was particularly worried to learn that heroin may have been seized in Donegal for the first time.
Under "Operation Cobra", gardai set up checkpoints on the main Derry to Buncrana Road on Sunday night/Monday morning and arrested 15 people under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
They were taken to Burnfoot and Buncrana Garda stations, but were subsequently released and are due to appear at Buncrana District Court on November 13th.
It is understood ecstasy tablets and cannabis were the main drugs found.
Meanwhile, in Letterkenny, one person was arrested for drugs offences after two houses in the town were raided at the weekend, while another person was arrested after a car was stopped by gardai.
In both cases a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.