Four men have been arrested by gardaí in Dublin today as part of a massive undercover operation to tackle drug dealing on the streets of Dublin.
Gardaí working undercover as part of Operation "Clean Streets" have been buying drugs off dealers in parts of Dublin for the last number of weeks.
However, gardaí would not confirm to ireland.commedia reports that they had bought drugs off 130 people in the city, nor, would they confirm how long officers had been buying the drugs as part of the operation. It is understood the operation has been running for the last six weeks.
Most of the dealers who sold drugs to officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit are believed to have sold heroin. A much smaller number sold cocaine and ecstasy while the rest sold cannabis. Gardaí are also understood to have bought crack cocaine from one dealer.
The four men who were arrested today are being held at various city centre garda stations and can be held for up to seven days before being charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
The Garda National Drugs Unit was established in 1995 and is based at Dublin Castle and is under the command of its Chief Superintendent.