File for DPP over €6.5m drug haul

A man arrested in connection with the seizure of drugs valued at up to €6

A man arrested in connection with the seizure of drugs valued at up to €6.5 million in Dublin and Kildare yesterday has been released from custody.

A Garda spokesman said a file would be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the man, who is in his 40s.

A second man in his 30s is still being detained at Clondalkin Garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

The drugs were detected as the consignment, which a Revenue spokeswoman said was believed to have originated in the Netherlands, passed through Dublin Port yesterday. It was marked as "frozen meat products".

After a search of a premises in Ballyfermot, cannabis with an estimated street value of €3.6 million was seized. A follow-up search uncovered cannabis in Naas, Co Kildare with a street value of €2.9 million.

Two men, aged 36 and 43, have been detained in Clondalkin Garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act under which they can be held for up to seven days.

Separately, gardaí in Waterford uncovered a cannabis cultivation unit containing cannabis plants and herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of €60,000 during a planned search of an apartment in Waterford city. A man in his thirties was detained at Waterford Garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act.