By Tríona Doherty
A man has been arrested following the seizure of €800,000 worth of drugs in Cornafulla, Athlone.
An industrial unit at Cornafulla, outside Athlone, was searched by gardaí between 9 and 10pm on Wednesday this week, and approximately 1,000 cannabis plants were seized. The total value of drugs seized at this location is approximately €800,000.
A 33-year-old male foreign national was arrested at the scene and is currently being detained at Roscommon Garda Station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking ) Act, 1996.
The bust was part of a national operation by an Garda Síochána, called Operation Nitrogen, which is led by the Garda National Drugs Unit, assisted by local Garda units.
Also in the Roscommon/Longford Garda Divison, four men were arrested in Longford after gardaí searched an indistrial unit on the Connaught Road, Longford town on the same night. A large cannabis cultivation operation of approximately 1,700 cannabis plants, with an approximate street value of €1.36 million, was discovered inside.
Nationally, some 5,800 cannabis plants - all pending analysis - with a total approximate street value of €4.6 million were seized and eight people were arrested, as part of Wednesday’s Operation Nitrogen busts.
Premises were also searched in Drogheda, Co Louth where cannabis plants with a street value of €1.28 million were discovered and two males arrested; Campile, Co Wexford where gardaí seized cannabis plants with a street value of €800,000 and one man was arrested; and Kiltimagh, Co Mayo where cannabis plants with a street value of €400,000 was seized but there were no arrests. A residential house in Lucan, Co Dublin was also searched, where a number of items were seized by gardaí.
Garda investigations are ongoing into the incidents.
