Gardaí have charged two men in relation to searches in Kildare and Westmeath which resulted in €2.1 million of drugs and €112,000 cash seized on July 15th, 2023.
Both men are scheduled to appear before Athlone District Court this afternoon.
The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau operation which targeted transnational organised crime, was supported by a number of national units and personnel from the Eastern Region.
During an initial search, Gardaí seized approximately 29kgs of suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of around €2 million. €112,050 in cash was also seized.
As part of follow-up searches, a pill manufacturing facility was discovered containing two pill making machines.
Cannabis with an estimated street value of €125,000 was seized along with other drug paraphernalia. A cannabis cultivation facility was also discovered.
Following the arrests assistant commissioner Justin Kelly, the officer in charge of the Organised and Serious Crime section remarked:
"I commend the detectives involved in this successful operation to disrupt an organised criminal group exploiting our communities. This work shows our absolute determination to target the activities of key individuals involved in the production and distribution of controlled drugs.
"Illicit pill manufacturing is undertaken in dangerous clandestine facilities with no control measures whatsoever in place, adding to the risk to end users”.
