THREE MEN were in custody last night following a Garda raid at a suspected drugs mixing factory.
Cocaine with an estimated street value of €700,000 was recovered yesterday at a house in Castletroy View, Limerick city.
Gardaí believe the house was being used as a mixing factory.
Some 6kg (13lb) of the drug along with other narcotics-related items, including mixing agents, blenders, bags and gloves were seized during the search operation against organised crime in the city.
A forensic examination of the premises was carried out, while the drugs were sent for forensic testing.
Three men, one in his 40s and two in their 20s, were arrested at the scene and were being detained at Henry Street Garda station last night under section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act.
They can be held for up to seven days without charge.
It is understood the three are members of a criminal gang based on the north side of the city.
A Garda spokesman has described the haul as significant and said it would put a dent in the cocaine trade in Limerick.
The searches were part of a larger operation targeting criminal elements in the city.
The chairman of Limerick's joint policing committee, Cllr Kevin Kiely, said the haul sent out a clear message to all Limerick criminals that gardaí were successfully targeting them.
"I'm told that it came about following ongoing surveillance of the particular house where the drugs were found. It's a major coup for the gardaí," said Cllr Kiely.