This article is from page 7 of the 2007-08-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 7 JPG
A €50,000 weekend drugs seizure was the biggest ever haul to be found in a house in Shannon.
The assortment of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, ecstacy and canna- bis, was uncovered by gardai during raids on two houses in the town on Friday night.
A mixture of drugs, consisting
mainly of cocaine, but also including quantities of ecstacy and heroin, was seized at a house in Inis Ealga. The value of that haul is estimated to be €47,000. Several thousands of euro was also found at that house, which is a local authority dwelling.
A quantity of cannabis resin, with an estimated value of ©5000, was Seized at a rented house in the Cro- nan area of the town.
The raids were carried out simulta- neously on the houses — in an op- eration involving local plain clothes and uniformed gardai, backed up by members of the Clare Divisional Drugs Unit — at around 7.30pm.
Two young men, in their early 20s, were arrested at the houses, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and were questioned at Shannon Garda Station overnight. They were released with-
out charge on Saturday evening and a file is being prepared for the DPP.
Gardai, meanwhile, will continue to investigate the matter, while the drugs have been sent for analysis to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Dublin.
“This is the largest haul of drugs found in a house search in Shannon. It was significant. We believe the drugs, or the majority of them, were
destined for the local market,’ said a garda spokesman.
“We would be concerned about the amount of hard drugs making their way into the area,” he added.
‘We are determined to keep on top of the problem. Further searches and investigations will be carried out in Shannon, on a day-to-day basis, in an effort to combat the spread of drugs,” added the garda.