TWO MEN from Co Tipperary and a third from Co Louth were being questioned last night after the discovery of a large cannabis factory in Co Donegal.
The discovery was made near Killea on the Donegal border with Derry on Wednesday evening. Following a lengthy surveillance operation, a large number of gardaí swooped on the dormer-type bungalow in the townland of Kildrum Lower at about 5pm on Wednesday.
Inside, they discovered approximately 1,200 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of up to €500,000.
Three men were arrested at the scene and were being held in Letterkenny and Milford Garda stations yesterday where they can be questioned for up to seven days under Section 2 of the Drugs Trafficking Act.
Two of the men, aged 29 and 30, are from Co Tipperary and the third suspect is a 34-year-old man from Louth.
The raid was carried out in conjunction with two other linked swoops made the same day in Co Louth and Co Tipperary.
Supt Vincent O’Brien of Letterkenny Garda station refused to be drawn on reports that dissident republicans from Derry may be involved.
The small village of Killea in recent years has become a satellite town of Derry city.
Supt O’Brien said the cannabis factory was a “highly sophisticated” operation which used plant cultivation using a hydroponics system.
Cannabis hydroponics is the practice of growing plants in either a bath or flow of highly oxygenated and nutrient enriched water without the need for soil.
“We entered the house and found a highly sophisticated set-up using high-powered lamps. All of the upstairs rooms in the house had been converted and we seized more than 1,200 plants in various stages of growth from six inches to five feet in height,” Supt O’Brien said.
He said they considered the find a huge success in their ongoing battle against drugs in Donegal.
Supt O’Brien said that there had been a number of follow-up operations around the country and, while no drugs were found, gardaí discovered further evidence to link them up with the Co Donegal house.
The large house, which has been under construction for the past three years, was under armed guard yesterday while a team from the Garda Forensics Technical Bureau carried out an examination.
It is believed the electricity supply to the house was bypassed by means of a direct line to a nearby ESB mains power supply line.