GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING two substantial seizures of cocaine are preparing files for the Director of Public Prosecutions after three of four suspects, including a 17-year-old, were released from Garda custody without charge.
The fourth man has already appeared before the courts in relation to one of the drug finds.
The largest of the seizures took place on Friday when a major search operation of a three-acre site in Drogheda, Co Louth, yielded cocaine valued at an estimated €3.5 million. A Webley revolver and 50 rounds of ammunition were also discovered.
The haul was found on waste ground off Cement Road. People using the area for the suspected storage of drugs and guns had been under surveillance as part of a major three-month Garda and Customs and Excise operation.
The searches of the three-acre site began at 7am when local gardaí, assisted by the Garda Dog Unit, Garda National Drugs Unit, members of the Criminal Assets Bureau, detectives from Balbriggan, and Customs and Excise officers went to the site.
Two blue plastic barrels, each containing 25kg of cocaine, were discovered hidden in dense undergrowth. Inside one they found a weighing scales with a covering of white powder on it.
A search team using metal detectors found the Webley revolver and 50 bullets, all in good condition, inside a metal ammunition box that had been buried.
In a search of a caravan at St Anthony’s halting site, directly across the road from the wasteland, they found a second weighing scales. In a follow-up operation, customs officers also seized a Northern Ireland-registered VW Passat car.
A 25-year-old man who lives in the area was arrested for questioning under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act. He was released from Drogheda Garda station without charge and a file is now being prepared for the DPP.
In a second, unrelated Garda operation, three males aged 39, 30 and 17 were arrested when gardaí found cocaine valued at €210,000 in Dublin. The drugs were found after members of the Garda National Drug Unit stopped and searched two cars in Tallaght on Friday at 6.30pm.
The three suspects were arrested under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act and were taken for questioning to Garda stations in Tallaght and Terenure.
The suspects aged 39 and 17 were released without charge. A file on their alleged involvement is being prepared for the DPP.
The third man, aged 30, has appeared before the courts in relation to the drug find. He appeared before a special sitting of Dublin District Court on Saturday and was charged with possession of illicit drugs with intent to supply.
The suspect, with an address at Swords, north Co Dublin, was remanded in custody and is due to appear before Cloverhill District Court next Thursday.