Two held after gardaí seize €192,000 of cannabis in Portlaoise irishtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from irishtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Drugs found in suitcase and man and woman arrested
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Gardaí have today seized cannabis with an estimated value of €192,000 following a joint intelligence led operation conducted with the Revenue Customs Service following the search of a vehicle in the Portlaoise area.
The Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau, Laois/Offaly Divisional Drugs Units and Revenue Customs Officers conducted the search.
The operation led to the discovery in a suitcase of 9.6 Kgs of Herbal Cannabis with an estimated value of €192,000.
A 27 year old man and a 28 year old woman were arrested at the scene and taken to Portlaoise Garda Station where they are currently detained under Section 2 of The Criminal Justice ( Drugs Trafficking) Act 1996.
Man and woman arrested after sizable drugs seizure in Midlands town
Reporter:
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As part of an intelligence led operation, Revenue officers seized 9.6 kgs of herbal cannabis with an estimated value of €192,000, following the search of a vehicle in the Portlaoise area.
The seizure was made as a result of a joint intelligence led operation conducted by Revenue’s Customs Service, the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and the Laois/Offaly Divisional Drugs Units.
A 27 year old man and a 28 year old woman were arrested at the scene and are currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drugs Trafficking) Act 1996 at Portlaoise Garda Station.
They are being detained at Naas garda station.
‘Dee Dee’ O’Driscoll has multiple previous convictions, including for bribing a garda, violent disorder and perverting the course of justice.
The 47-year-old criminal is at the centre of a lengthy garda investigation into an extortion campaign in which council workers and contractors were targeted.
Bank accounts to the value of more than €250,000 controlled by O’Driscoll and his close associate David Reilly were frozen by the Criminal Assets Bureau after the High Court was told in October, 2019 that the money was raised through extortion and running protection rackets.
The other gang being probed about Thursday’s huge bust is led by a crack cocaine dealer who was previously arrested in relation to the murder of Dean Johnson (21), an innocent victim of a Clondalkin feud, who was gunned down in 2013.
Gardai have described the seizure of €211,755 in cash and the arrests of three men in north Dublin as another “significant impact” in their efforts to dismantle organised crime groups.