Guns, cash and €5m in drugs seized in Dublin
Among the seizures were cannabis and cocaine, valued at about €3m
- Published
Drugs worth more than €5m (£4.3m), 10 firearms and cash have been seized by gardaí (Irish police) in Dublin over the last week.
It comes after 20 search operations were carried out by units targeting serious crime and illicit drug supply in the city.
In one search, cannabis and cocaine valued at about €3m (£2.6m) were found at a business premise in the southwest of the city on 3 April.
Three people arrested during the search are being questioned.
A semi-automatic machine pistol and nine rounds of ammunition were seized by gardaí in Clondalkin on 29 March.
A man in his 20s was detained before later being released pending further investigation.
The following day, two firearms were found in a local park in Ballyfermot, west Dublin.
About 10 firearms have also been recovered by officers during search operations
Cannabis estimated at about €80,000 (£68,620) was found during a search of a home in Fortunestown in the west of the city on 2 April.
A man in his 40s was arrested and subsequently charged.
Gardaí in Ronanstown seized seven firearms, along with ammunition, cannabis, cocaine and about €100,000 (£85,775) during four searches in Clondalkin on Wednesday 3 April.
In addition, €67,000 (£57,469) was frozen in a bank account, and tracker devices and phones were also seized.
Ronanstown gardaí seized a number of items, including guns, cash and drugs
Separately, about 55kg of cannabis, valued at €1.1m (£943,492), was discovered in a van arriving on a ferry from the UK by revenue officers.
A man in his 50s was arrested and is being questioned by gardaí in the Dublin region.
Speaking on Thursday, assistant commissioner for the Dublin region Angela Willis praised the "continuous efforts" of officers tackling serious criminality across the city.
"Removing 10 lethal firearms from circulation will no doubt save many lives and contribute to our efforts to keep communities safe," she said.
The "significant quantities" of drugs and cash seized will also damage the ability of criminal networks to operate within communities, she added.