GARDAÍ HAVE arrested 70 suspected drug dealers in the biggest co-ordinated operation against street-level drug dealing.
The arrests followed a four-month covert operation in which gardaí bought drugs from some of the dealers they were targeting.
The suspects were all arrested over the past 48 hours at 100 addresses in Dublin, Wicklow and Meath. Some 150 gardaí were involved in the raids.
Gardaí believe they have effectively dismantled two significant drug-dealing networks which have been supplying cocaine and heroin across Dublin. Most of the raids were in Dublin.
The houses raided outside the capital are owned by dealers who operate in the city.
The value of drugs seized has not been disclosed. However, gardaí said the emphasis of the investigation, codenamed Operation Cellar, was on arresting and charging as many people as possible rather than seizing significant quantities of drugs.
The operation was led by the Garda National Drug Unit under Det Chief Supt Tony Quilter. It also involved drug units from the Dublin Metropolitan Region Garda divisions.
Mr Quilter said the operation had been put in place after the Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy prioritised the targeting of dealers working in local communities. "[ The operation] is part of a co-ordinated and effective approach to protecting our communities, individuals and their families from the harm and pain caused by drug use," he said.
Some 64 male and six female suspects have already been before the courts following their arrests since Wednesday. One of those arrested was wanted for armed robbery and has now been before the courts in relation to that charge. Another man arrested is a well-known mid-ranking drug dealer who has been supplying 10 to 15 street dealers and has long been a target for gardaí.
In the course of one of the searches, which were all at residential addresses, an imitation firearm was seized. Gardaí expect criminal charges in relation to that find and said further charges in relation to the substantive drugs inquiry can also be expected.
As well as the cocaine and heroin seized, gardaí also found small quantities of ecstasy.
Supt Pat Byrne, the head of operations in the GNDU, said those arrested were typically selling heroin in batches of €15 deals, usually eight deals at a time. The suspects were selling cocaine in deals of €50-€100.
Operation Cellar follows similar Garda operations in which large teams of gardaí were deployed to covertly buy drugs from street dealers and arrest and charge them on the basis of the deals.
Last July, Operation Accessory led to the arrest of 12 drug dealers in north Dublin suburbs including Edenmore, Darndale, Belcamp, Baldoyle and Kilbarrack. In September 2006, 30 dealers were arrested in west Dublin as part of Operation Marigold.
Last May, 15 drug dealers were arrested in Tallaght, Dublin, under Operation Fossil while there were 11 arrests in a similar drugs investigation in Galway.
Operation Plaza in Dublin in May 2006 targeted crack cocaine dealers in Dublin's north inner city and resulted in eight arrests.
Most of the undercover operations have run for three to four months. Many of the gardaí deployed to covertly buy the drugs have undergone specialist training courses in the UK where police forces have been using the covert tactics against organised drugs gangs for a long period.