A number of locations in counties Offaly and Laois are being searched part of an investigation into recent deaths at a hostel in Tullamore.
The searches are being conducted in Tullamore and Portarlington.
Three people - two women and a man - who were living in emergency accommodation at the old Clonamore House Hotel have died since Sunday.
The most recent was last night when a 23-year-old man, who became ill at the hostel on Monday, died at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore.
The man, whose girlfriend died in the hostel on Monday, is from the Portlaoise area.
A 44-year-old woman found unresponsive at the hostel on Sunday 26 April was pronounced dead a short time later.
A man in his early 30s who was being treated after taking ill at the hostel has been discharged from hospital.
Gardaí had issued a warning about the origin of substances or drugs which may have been bought on the internet and are presently being circulated in the midlands.
Today's searches are being supported by Laois/Offaly Divisional Drugs Unit, Regional Armed Support Unit and the Garda Dog Unit.
