CANNABIS PLANTS with a potential street value of €400,000 were discovered by gardaí in Co Monaghan on Saturday.
Two Chinese nationals aged in their 30s were arrested during raids on two houses by officers from the Cavan/Monaghan divisional drugs unit, supported by local gardaí.
One of the raids was on a remote house at Crumlin, Threemilehouse, and another was on a house in the Aghataminy area which is several miles from Monaghan town.
It is understood that both houses had been rented from unsuspecting locals.
The electricity meters had been bypassed on both dwellings and the power needed for heating lamps was taken directly from lines outside the houses.
The two men arrested are being held at Monaghan Garda station.
These latest discoveries are part of a massive cross-Border crackdown targeting a large cannabis production and distribution ring operating in the State and Northern Ireland.
The Monaghan arrests follow the discovery of similar cannabis factories by the PSNI in the south Armagh area in recent weeks. A number of other Chinese nationals were arrested in those raids.