GARDAÍ HAVE SEIZED ten firearms and over €5 million worth of illegal drugs in raids across the Dublin area over the course of the last week. Multiple arrests have been made while some investigations remain ongoing, gardaí said.
A Garda spokesperson said that officers from regional and divisional units across Dublin had “undertaken in excess of 20 search operations targeting serious crime and illicit drug supply in the city”.
One of the searches, conducted last Friday, found a PM-63C RAK Semi-Automatic Machine Pistol and some ammunition in a house in Clondalkin.
A man in his 20s was detained and subsequently released pending further investigations.
The following day, 30 March, two firearms were recovered by Gardaí in Ballyfermot following a search of a local park but no arrests have been made, the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday in Fortunestown, Dublin 24, cannabis with an estimated value of €80,000 was seized, and a man in his 40s was arrested and charged.
Yesterday, Gardaí from Ronanstown seized seven firearms and ammunition, along with cannabis and cocaine with a combined estimated value of €200,000 as well as €100,000 in cash, following planned searches of four residential properties in the Clondalkin area.
Additionally, €67,000 was frozen in a bank account as a result of the searches. Tracker devices and mobile phones were also seized and investigations are ongoing, gardaí said.
Also yesterday, during a search of a vehicle on Beresford Street, Dublin 7, Gardaí attached to the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) seized cannabis with an estimated value of €200,000.
Two men in their 30s were arrested at the scene. Subsequently, a follow-up search at a residential property in Finglas led to the seizure of cannabis with an estimated value of €300,000, and a man in his late 20s was arrested.
Another search yesterday at a business premises in Dublin 12 resulted in the recovery of cannabis and cocaine valued at €3 million. The three individuals arrested are currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drugs Trafficking Act, 1996 at Garda Stations in the Dublin Region.
Separately yesterday, Dublin Port Revenue officers discovered 55 kg of herbal cannabis with a value €1.1million concealed in a van arriving on a ferry from the UK.
Gardaí from a divisional drugs unit have arrested a man in his 50s and he is currently detained under the same drug trafficking act at a Garda Station in the Dublin Region.
The seized drugs will undergo analysis by Forensic Science Ireland, and the firearms will undergo ballistic and forensic examination, the Garda spokesperson said.
Speaking today, Assistant Commissioner for the Dublin Region, Angela Willis said:
“Removing ten lethal firearms from circulation will no doubt save many lives and contribute to our efforts to keep communities safe.
“The impact of the seizure of significant quantities of illicit drugs and cash, believed to represent the proceeds of criminality, will also ensure that we continue to affect the ability of criminal networks to operate in our communities”.
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