Four men were in custody last night following a major Garda operation in Meath over the weekend in which nine guns, a cocaine processing plant and a 40ft container full of stolen plant machinery were discovered.
In separate weekend operations in Dublin and Meath cocaine, heroin and cannabis worth €2 million were seized.
One of the men being questioned in connection with the guns and drugs find near Athboy, Co Meath, is a major drug dealer. From Navan, Co Meath, he has recently been supplying drugs gangs in Dublin, Louth and Meath. Gardaí also believe the guns found may have been rented out to criminals.
When gardaí raided a garage in Mooneystown at around 4pm on Saturday they found three men in the process of mixing cocaine with a bulking agent. A compressor was being used to pack the drugs into blocks.
The Navan man, and two others from Drogheda - all three in their 20s and 30s - were arrested at the scene. Nine firearms were found including a Luger and Smith & Wesson along with two rifles, a pump-action shotgun and ammunition. The pump-action shotgun had been stolen in a recent robbery in Castletown-Geoghan, Co Westmeath. One of the rifles had been taken in another robbery in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath.
A 40ft container adjacent to the garage was full of stolen generators and power tools, worth up to €50,000 each. Gardaí arrested a fourth man yesterday morning at a house close to the garage and con- tainer. Cocaine valued at €400,000 was seized in the weekend operation. Gardaí also seized four stolen vehicles and believe a hidden compartment in one of them was being used to hide guns.
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