Issue Date: 12/05/2022
Gardaí have arrested and charged three men following a search operation in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, during which €90,000 worth of drugs were seized.
Gardaí attached to the Laois Divisional Drugs Unit, with assistance from the Detective Branch and uniform Gardaí from Portlaoise Garda Station, conducted a search in a residence in Portlaoise at approximately 8.20pm on Tuesday, 10th May 2022.
During the course of the search, Gardaí seized cocaine with an approximate street value of €50,000 and cannabis herb with an approximate street value of €40,000. The drugs will now be sent for analysis.
Three men, two aged in their late teens and one aged in his early 20s, were arrested as part of the operation and taken to Portlaoise Garda Station where they were detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.
The have since been charged and are due to appear before Portlaoise District Court this morning, Thursday 12th May 2022 at 10.30am.
This seizure forms part of Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, which was launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on July 2, 2021. The focus of Operation Tara is to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks, at all levels - international, national, local - involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale and supply of controlled drugs.
