Man faces court over €500,000 cannabis growhouse in Cork

A 30-year-old Slovak was due to appear in court today in connection with the discovery of a €500,000 drug seizure at a cannabis growhouse in the Macroom area on Wednesday.

Officers from the West Cork Divisional Drugs Squad, the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit and the Macroom District Drugs Squad raided an isolated house near Tarelton eight miles south of Macroom, at about 10pm on Wednesday.

Officers found 600 cannabis plants including a significant number that had reached maturity and were ready for harvesting, with the crop having a potential street value of €500,000.

Gardaí described the operation as highly sophisticated, with a nearby shed equipped with lighting and hydroponic systems to bring the plants to maturity over a three-month period.

Detectives arrested the man at the house and brought him to Bandon Garda station for questioning about the cannabis operation.

The man was due to appear at Bandon Districct Court this morning in connection with the growhouse, which gardaí described as the biggest found in West Cork this year.