Litter warden finds 22 bin bags of cannabis dumped on Meath roadside

While it is not the first time Mr Nolan has detected bags of waste cannabis plants discarded along the East Meath area, he says it is the first where the plants included the cannabinoid-rich buds.

"We got a call from a member of the public through our customer service team to notify us of a large amount of what they thought was domestic waste on the roadside at Julianstown last Tuesday evening and we went to investigate," he said

"There were 22 bags dumped and I quickly realised what they contained when I opened them in an effort to search for evidence to secure a prosecution.

"I notified gardaí who arrived on the scene immediately."

However Mr Nolan said that it's not the first time that discarded cannabis plants have been illegally dumped in the area but he was "surprised" that these bags contained the valuable drugs.

"It's getting more prevalent. In the last three years, I have come across about eight incidents of illegal dumping of between 10 and 20 bags of compost and used cannabis plants along roads in areas like Ashbourne, Garristown, Julianstown, Bettystown and Bellewstown.

"But I've never come across plants before that contained the drugs.

"We have to use our resources to remove these plastic bags and recycle what they contain," he said.

Meath Crime Prevention Officer Sgt Dean Kerins said: "The incident is under investigation and any results of technical examinations will be followed-up.

"These bags possibly were discarded in a panic from a growhouse and we would ask anyone who notices any suspicious behaviour in a neighbouring house at any time to contact gardaí on the Confidential line 1800 666 111 or private message us through the Meath Crime Prevention page."