COCAINE with an estimated street value of €12,000, as well as €5,000 in cash and equipment, was seized in Bantry following a raid by An Garda Siochana, supported by members from the Armed Support Unit, on Tuesday morning.
A garda spokesperson told The Southern Star that as part of Operation Tara – which targets the sale and supply of drugs in the region – searches were carried out under warrant at a number of locations in the town.
One of the search locations was at a private home at Slip Heights, while the other was at a halting site in the Harbour View area, close to Bantry's main square.
ADVERTISEMENT
A local person captured on video the moment when a fleet of marked and unmarked garda cars arrived on the scene at about 11am.
The gardaí, which included members of the Cork County Divisional Drugs Unit, members of the local Crime Unit, and members of the Armed Support Unit, surrounded the site before entering the premises to conduct the search.
An Garda Siochana seized suspected cocaine with an estimated value of €12,000, plus a small quantity of cannabis, and almost €5,000 in cash and drug-related paraphernalia.
Gardaí arrested two men, aged in their 30s and 40s, and the men were detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at a garda station within the county.
The garda spokesperson said the investigation is 'ongoing' and he confirmed that the seized drugs have been sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis.
The seizure forms part of Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy launched by the Garda Commissioner in July 2021.
Operation Tara aims to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute drug trafficking networks at all levels — local, national and international — involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, and local sale and supply of controlled drugs.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE RAID HERE:
