Gardaí bust 'major' drug operation
Gardaí believe they have busted one of the biggest drugs operations in the north-east.
Three weekend swoops in Co Meath netted seizures of cannabis, cocaine and heroin as well as firearms and ammunition.
The drugs haul was tonight put on display at Kells garda station.
Supt Gerry Cadden of Kells gardaí said: “What we are hoping is that we have disrupted the activities of one of the major suppliers of drugs to the whole of the north-east really – and possibly to a large part of the Midlands.”
Five men appeared at Dunshaughlin District Court this evening in connection with the raids.
The garda operations began on Saturday when more than €1.4m worth of cocaine, cannabis and heroin was recovered when officers stopped and searched a car and a van near Trim.
A raid on a garage near Athboy also yielded drug-making equipment and 5kg of cocaine.
Six handguns, two rifles, a pump action shotgun, ammunition and balaclavas were discovered in a follow-up operation.
In the latest success, an overnight operation led to a suspected drugs factory being uncovered in a building outside Navan.
Paraphernalia for mixing drugs, including a compressor, was found at the scene.
