A senior officer said last night the Garda has been conducting a special operation in Dublin aimed at reducing open drug dealing in the O'Connell Street area. Chief Supt Dick Kelly, of Fitzgibbon Street station, who announced "Operation Mainstreet" on RTE Television, said it had been in operation for "about five weeks" and led to significant arrests.
The operation appears to have been highly secret as Garda sources in Store Street station - which is responsible for O'Connell Street - had not heard of it before last night's announcement.
The level of drug dealing in O'Connell Street has been growing during the past five weeks, and increased dealing around the Anna Livia fountain featured in television and news paper reports last week.