Gardaí arrest 34 drug suspects in major swoop

GARDAÍ HAVE arrested 34 suspected drug dealers following an operation that took place over a number of months.

The operation involved undercover gardaí buying drugs from street dealers, who were then detained and charged.

Arrests have been made in Athlone, Co Westmeath, and Finglas and Blanchardstown in Dublin. The operations were co-ordinated by the Garda National Drugs Unit, supported by local drugs units.

They involved lengthy surveillance and intelligence gathering

As part of the Dublin operation, eight men were still being held last night at Finglas and Cabra stations.

These arrests brought to 28 those detained in the Dublin end of the operation since Sunday.

Gardaí in Athlone yesterday arrested six people, five men and a woman in their 20s or early 30s.

Two of the suspects have already been charged before the courts, while the remaining four will appear in court today.

Supt Aidan Glacken of Athlone Garda station said the operation was a “major blow” to street dealers in Athlone, adding that investigations would continue.

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan TD welcomed the arrests. However, he said they must lead to convictions “so a strong message is sent to drug criminals across the country that they cannot deal openly in a trade that is attacking the fabric of Irish society”.

“Unless the cold-blooded killers at the top of the drug hierarchy are arrested and convicted for the murders they are carrying out while building their drug empires, gardaí will be forced to carry out operations such as these on a weekly basis.”