ELEVEN PEOPLE were charged at Carlow District Court yesterday with dealing heroin.
They were arrested during a series of early-morning raids and questioned at Garda stations in Athy, Carlow, Kilkenny and Thomastown.
The eight men and three women – ranging in age from 27 to 68 – were charged with a combined total of 75 offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act relating to the possession, sale and supply of heroin.
Judge William Harnett granted free legal aid to all 11 and released them on bail.
They were ordered to each sign a bond for €700, sign on three times a week at Carlow Garda station and remanded to appear again before court on September 15th.
The eight men charged, all with addresses in Carlow town, were: Paschal Doyle (68), Staplestown Road; Jason Walsh (32), Centaur Street; Joe Nolan (46), St Mary’s Park; John McAndrew (36), O’Hanrahan Avenue; David Kenny (68), Quinagh, Blackbog Road; Brendan Keating (35), Avondale Drive; Paul Doyle (39), The Laurels, Tullow Road; and Keith Moran (33), Jefferson Court, Burrin Street.
The three women who were charged also had addresses in Carlow town and were: Sandra Doyle (37), The Laurels, Tullow Road; Barbara Kehoe (38), Staplestown Road; and, Geeta O’Neill (27), Jefferson Court, Burrin Street.
The arrests and court appearances followed one of the biggest Garda operations for many years in the southeast region.
From 6am yesterday, an estimated 70 gardaí raided a total of 40 addresses in towns and villages throughout Co Carlow.
Officers from the South Eastern Regional Drugs Unit were supported by the Garda National Drugs Unit in carrying out the “intelligence-led search and arrest sweep” following a surveillance operation which took place over recent months.
In its most recent report on drug misuse in the southeast region, the Health Service Executive said that heroin was second only to alcohol in its list of “problem substances” cited by people seeking treatment.