Four arrested after cannabis worth €8.5m seized in Dublin

Four men have been arrested after cannabis with an estimated street value of €8.5m was seized by gardaí following a planned search of a business premises in Dublin 12.

Shortly after 3pm yesterday, gardaí intercepted two vehicles and searched a premises in the Ballymount area of Dublin 12 under Operation Tara.

During the investigation, 429kg of cannabis, with an estimated value of €8.5m was seized.

The men, aged 31, 45, 52 and 58, were arrested under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 for offences of facilitating and enhancing a criminal organisation to commit drug trafficking offences.

They are being held at garda stations in the Dublin region.

The joint operation was carried out by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Tallaght Drug Unit supported by Revenue.

Following the operation, the head of Organised and Serious Crime, Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly said: "This operation is another example of our commitment to target the enablers and facilitators of global drug trafficking networks and our ongoing efforts to make Ireland a difficult environment for them to operate in."

Illegal tablets worth almost €2m seized in Dublin

Separately, illegal tablets worth almost €2m were seized following a number of searches in Dublin yesterday.

Gardaí carried out a planned operation targeting the main supply line of illegal tablets into Dublin city centre.

The first part of the operation involved the stop and search of a car in the south Dublin area. Over 10,000 Zopiclone and Alprazolam tablets (valued at €20,000) were recovered from the vehicle.

A number of planned searches were then carried out across Dublin.

A search of a business premises in south Dublin resulted in around 965,000 Zopiclone and Alprazolam tablets (subject to analysis) being seized. They are valued at around €1.93 million.

A further search of a premises in Dublin city centre resulted in the recovery of over 13,000 Zopiclone and Alprazolam tablets, valued at over €26,000.

Two further searches resulted in the recovery of €4,500 cash and evidence relating to the trafficking of drugs across Dublin.

The total value of the drugs recovered was €1,976,000.

Two men were arrested in connection with the seizures and one of the men is due in court this evening.