FOUR MEN were in Garda custody last night after cocaine valued at over €2 million was seized following a surveillance operation on a suspected drugs gang.
The consignment of drugs was being delivered by British drugs couriers to two Dublin criminals when gardaí moved in and seized the haul. It is one of the biggest drug seizures so far this year.
Members of the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) found the drugs in a holdall bag when they searched a car at Pearse Square, off Pearse St in Dublin, at 9.45am yesterday. The four men were arrested at the scene.
Two of them are Irish in their 40s, while the other two are from Britain and are in their 20s. Gardaí were aware that the Irishmen were trying to source cocaine from criminals in Britain and put them under surveillance.
Reliable Garda sources said one of the Irishmen in custody last night is regarded as a significant player in the drugs trade. The other man is also known to gardaí. They are aged 43 and 47 and have addresses in Cabra and Dublin's north inner city. The other two men are aged 23 and 24 and are from the midlands in England.
Gardaí were last night liaising with the British police in an effort to check if the identities given by the British men are genuine.
All four were being questioned under the Drug Trafficking Act. They were being detained at Pearse St and Harcourt Terrace Garda stations. They can be detained for up to seven days without charge.
The cocaine has been sent for analysis and, depending on purity, could have a street value of €2.3 million. Imported batches of cocaine are usually high in purity and are mixed with glucose and dental anaesthetic to increase their bulk for sale on the streets.
The anaesthetic numbs a drug user's gums in the same way as cocaine, meaning it is easy to pass off as pure cocaine when it is being tested by a buyer on the streets.
Garda sources said while the investigation is still at an early stage they believe the drugs had most likely just entered the Republic from the UK.
The two Irish men arrested are members of an organised Dublin crime gang which operates on the north side of the city. Gardaí are satisfied the drugs were destined for the market in the capital.
The car in which the drugs were being transported has been seized and was undergoing technical examination last night. The four men are expected to appear before the courts in coming days to face charges relating to possession for sale or supply.
Yesterday's operation was led by GNDU and supported by members of the Garda's National Criminal Intelligence Unit, which collates and disseminates intelligence on criminal activity.