Gardaí have carried out a number of searches as part of an investigation into the theft of telephone cables in the border region.
Around 70 incidents impacting 1,500 households have been reported in the last six months, with the majority taking place in rural areas of counties Monaghan, Meath and Louth.
The overground cables are being targeted for the valuable copper contained within the cable.
While gardaí will not speculate on its value, it is believed a tonne of copper could yield thieves around €5,000.
As part of a cross-border operation, gardaí carried out searches of licensed scrap yards, car dismantlers and waste management and recycling facilities in the region last Thursday.
The searches were carried out along with officials from the Waste Enforcement departments of Cavan and Monaghan county councils.
In a statement issued today, gardaí confirmed that working as part of the Joint Agency Task Force a number of operations took place along border counties.
Gardaí seized drugs, cars, smuggled kerosene and cash in the operations tackling rural crime in the border counties.
The joint agency task force is a cross-border agency set up to tackle cross-border organised crime.
During the searches in Sligo they found heroin, cocaine and cannabis, believed to be worth almost €70,000.
Gardaí in Cavan, Monaghan and Louth and and customs officials, also found marked mineral oil and discovered 1,000 litres of smuggled kerosene.
Detective Superintendent John O'Flaherty said that alongside their colleagues in the PSNI, the gardaí are committed to taking a joint approach to protect and reassure communities on both sides of the border.
"An Garda Síochána is acutely aware that rural crime has the potential to cause serious harm to local communities if left unchecked," he said.
