Five people were being questioned by gardaí last night in connection with a series of drugs and cash seizures in Dublin, Cork and Laois.
The raids followed the seizure earlier in the week of cocaine and heroin valued at more than €4 million in Kildare, Cork, Dublin and Meath.
Two of the three latest operations were run under Operation Anvil, the Garda's nationwide investigation into drug dealing and organised crime.
Two of those being questioned last night were stopped at a Garda checkpoint at Knochnamore, Abbeyleix, Co Laois, at 9.30pm on Thursday.
The two men, who are aged 24 and 21, were arrested following the discovery of €14,000 cash in their car.
In a follow-up search gardaí found cocaine with an estimated street value of €70,000. The two men were being questioned in Abbeyleix Garda station. They can be held for up to seven days without charge under the Drug Trafficking Act.
Earlier on Thursday, two men were arrested in Cork after their car was stopped at another Operation Anvil checkpoint. The men were stopped at Rathgoggin, Charleville, at 8.20pm. Cannabis resin valued at around €15,000 was found in their car.
The men, both of whom are from Cork and are aged 39 and 25, were being held at Charleville Garda station and can be detained for up to seven days without charge.
In Dublin, a man in his 20s was being questioned after cocaine with an estimated street value of €77,000 was found during a search of a house at Lambay Close, Ballybrack, on Thursday evening.
A small quantity of ecstasy tablets were also seized during the search by Bray drugs unit. The suspect was being questioned at Shankill Garda station.
Meanwhile, updated figures from Operation Anvil reveal almost 800 firearms have been seized around the country since its establishment 18 months ago. In Dublin, some 549 weapons have been seized and in the regions the figure is 238.
The number of arrests under the operation has now surpassed 6,500 with 4,125 suspects having been detained in Dublin and 2,595 outside the capital. The number of Garda checkpoints established in the capital has reached almost 42,000, with stolen property valued at €14 million having been recovered.
The six regional assistant commissioners have been responsible for the operation outside Dublin. They have drawn up lists of suspects who are covertly monitored by the National Surveillance Unit (NSU) before searches are begun and arrests made.
Operation Anvil was established in Dublin in May 2005 after a spate of gun murders and major armed robberies in the city. As well as the NSU it has involved the Criminal Assets Bureau, Garda National Drug Unit and National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The campaign in Dublin has involved gardaí working 15,000 extra hours every week.
