A man is being questioned in connection with the seizure of over €8 million worth of heroin and cocaine as part of an operation targeting a major drugs dealing gang with national and international connections.
Sixteen properties were searched over a two-day period this week, €63,000 and £38,000 in cash were also recovered.
It is the fourth significant seizure from the organised crime group over the past year and a half and brings to over €12m the amount of drugs seized, along with luxury cars, high powered motorbikes, designer goods and property deeds.
This seizure is the latest in a series of operations over the last 18 months targeting a major organised crime group known as 'The Family', which gardaí described as a well structured criminal organisation it is working to dismantle.
Over 60 gardaí from various armed, local and specialist units, led by the Terenure Drugs Unit, searched 16 properties across south and west Dublin, Meath, Westmeath, Laois, and Offaly yesterday and today.
More than 110 kilos of cocaine and 1.5 kilos of heroin, with an estimated street value of €8.2m were seized from two vans.
£38,000 and €63,000, believed to drugs money, were also recovered.
A man in his 40s was arrested and is still being detained under drug trafficking legislation.
He can be questioned for up to seven days.
So far, 23 people have been arrested in the last year-and-a-half as part of this targeted operation and over €12.5m worth of cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ziplocone tablets have been seized.
In February of last year, cocaine worth €3.1m and €350,000 in cash were seized.
Three months later, gardaí searched 38 homes and three businesses in Dublin and Kildare and seized cash, cars, motorbikes and drugs.
A Volkswagen Golf GTI valued at approximately €40,000, a Mercedes CLA Estate also valued at approximately €40,000 and a €20,000 Yamaha R1 sports were recovered
A Citroen Dispatch, worth around €5,000 which had a specially made concealed compartment in the floor of the van for transporting drugs, cash and firearms were also seized.
€109,000 of suspected zopiclone tablets and €4,000 of alprazolam tablets were also seized along with bank drafts for €40,000, deeds for three Spanish properties and two cash counting machines.
A number of designer watches, including Rolex and Tag Heuer, were also located during these searches.
In March of this year, homes and businesses in Dublin and Longford were also searched and 29 cars and vans were seized as well as evidence relating to drugs related money-laundering and fraud offences.
Further freezing orders were placed on company accounts, freezing approximately €200,000 suspected to be the proceeds of crime.
The estimated value of the vehicles seized is between €500,000 and €600,000.
