Gardaí believe they have broken up a significant drug dealing operation after they arrested a man and seized cocaine valued at almost €1 million at a house close to the main Dublin-Belfast road in Co Louth.
A 54-year-old man remained in Garda custody last night after being arrested at the scene yesterday morning.
The cocaine, which was in packets, was found along with a compressor machine, which would be used in the packaging of the drug for further distribution. The drugs had been packed into quantities of half a kilo, valued at around €40,000 each.
The seizure was made in Charleville, near Dunleer. A total of 11.5kg of the drug was seized.
It was taken to Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, for testing. Depending on its purity levels, it could have a street value of between €900,000 and €1 million.
The haul was found when gardaí raided a small house, which appeared to be a converted garage, just after 6.30am.
The man being questioned last night was arrested at the scene and detained at Drogheda Garda station under the Drug Trafficking Act. He is originally from Co Laois and had also lived in Dublin. He is closely linked to a number of drug dealers from the Coolock and Santry areas of north Dublin. The seizure was the culmination of a major operation in recent months into the activities of the gang.
Gardaí believe the house where the drugs were seized in Charleville would have been an ideal distribution base for supplying the Dublin and Louth markets.
The property is close to the M1 motorway; around 20 minutes drive to the Border and about 25 minutes by car from the outskirts of Dublin.
Garda Chief Supt Pat Magee described the seizure as "significant", adding: "We think we have broken up a drug-dealing operation which was based in Co Louth. We suspect that this would have been supplying cocaine to the Dublin market."
Gardaí from the Drogheda- based drugs unit and members of the Dublin-based Garda National Drugs Unit were involved in the early morning raids.
The last significant drugs seizure in the Louth/Meath Garda division was in August last year when cocaine and firearms were recovered near Athboy.
Three of the four men charged in relation to that seizure are due to have their cases concluded in the coming year; the fourth man, Paul Reay, was shot dead outside his Drogheda home as he made his way to court.