A known drug-dealer from Dublin's north inner city was being questioned by gardai last night after his arrest at the weekend following a surveillance operation.
Cocaine worth £20,000 and about £8,000 in cash were seized following the arrest of the 36-year-old man outside a house in Summerhill, Dublin.
Plainclothes detectives from the North Central Divisional Drugs Unit arrested the man, whose movements had been closely monitored.
He is likely to be charged with an offence which carries a sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.
According to gardai, the man was a former associate of the convicted drug-dealer John Gilligan and of Brian Meehan, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.
The arrested man is understood to have previous convictions for robbery but none for drug-related offences.
Gardai said the man was one of the main drug-suppliers in the north inner city.
They believe the cocaine seized was destined for the drugs market in the inner city.
A one-gram deal of cocaine costs about £80.
The man was arrested as he emerged from a house in Dunne Street at 5.45 p.m. on Saturday. Gardai say he was carrying £3,500 in cash and a small quantity of cocaine.
In a follow-up search of the man's flat in the house in Dunne Street, gardai found £20,000 worth of cocaine. A further search of a flat at nearby Clarence Street yielded another £4,500 in cash.
The man was detained in Store Street Garda station last night under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act, 1996.
He can be held for up to seven days but could be charged within that period.
A 27-year-old woman who was arrested at the same time was subsequently released.
Under Section 15 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act, 1996, anyone found guilty of possession of drugs worth more than £10,000 faces 10 years' imprisonment.