A MAN was being questioned by gardai last night following the seizure of cocaine and cannabis in Dublin with a street value estimated by gardai at £1.5 million.
In a linked operation, gardai searched houses in Clondalkin and Coolock yesterday afternoon. Four kg of cocaine was discovered in a house in the Clare Hall housing estate in Coolock, along with shotgun cartridges and balaclavas.
Following the raid, a man in his thirties was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and was being questioned last night at Santry Garda station. His period of detention was extended shortly after 9 p.m. last night.
During the first search of a house in Clondalkin, 0.25 kg of cannabis and stolen property were recovered. Two people were arrested at the scene and later released. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The drugs were being examined by experts at the State Forensic Science Laboratory last night.
A spokesman for the Garda Press Office said the operation by the Garda National Drugs Squad is continuing. Gardai believe the cocaine was of a high level of purity.
The 50 kg of cocaine on the Colombian cargo ship at Moneypoint, Co Clare last week proved to be about 75 per cent pure. Gardai estimated a street value for that haul at up to £40 million.
Last night a Garda spokesman said the street value of cocaine was estimated at £80,000 per kilo. Just four kilos were found in yesterday's raid. The cannabis resin is believed to have a street value of under £2,000. However, the spokesman insisted the combined cocaine and cannabis haul was worth £1.5 million.
Meanwhile, two Filipino seamen were yesterday remanded in custody to Limerick Prison for one week when they appeared at Ennis District Court on charges arising out of their part in the alleged importation of cocaine, at Moneypoint.
Mr Danilo Arca (45), a pump operator and Mr Ronaldo C. Fernandez (31), both with addresses in the Philippines, were charged separately with unlawfully importing cocaine, a controlled drug, under the Misuse of Drugs Act.