A MAN and a woman were in Garda custody last night following the seizure of cocaine and amphetamines with a street value of about £800,000 in a Dublin city centre apartment.
A Garda spokesman said the two were arrested in Parliament Apartments in Parliament Street, on the south side of the city, shortly after 6 p.m. "as a result of information and surveillance by the Drugs Unit at Kilmainham and Kevin Street Garda stations".
Gardai, assisted by the Dog Unit, searched an apartment and found "a large quantity" of illegal drugs as well as instruments and equipment used for processing uncut amphetamines and cocaine.
The spokesman said two occupants of the apartment, a man, aged 29 and a 19 year old woman, were arrested and taken to Kevin Street Garda station where they are being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Jurisdiction Act.
The seizure is the second drugs find in Dublin in recent days.
Heroin with a street value of about £350,000 was discovered by gardai after a search of the railway line in Sutton after detectives from Clontarf station learned that two men had been seen acting suspiciously.
The package of about 3/4 kg of heroin was hidden in bushes.
The latest discovery of hard drugs in Dublin is sure to heighten Opposition party calls for tougher action against crime as the Dail resumes after the Christmas recess. New measures to combat drug trafficking are included in a new Bill which the Government has said is receiving priority attention.
Under the legislation, increased powers of detention means that suspects can be held for up to seven days but a judge will have to authorise detention lasting more than 48 hours.
A surveillance operation lasting for more than a month led to last night's raid in Parliament Street.
The raid was carried out after detectives had monitored a number of people frequenting the apartment.
The seizure was made up of cocaine and amphetamine, both in powder form, and each type accounts for about half the haul.
According to detectives - the drugs were in "a very pure form", accounting for the high street value being placed on the find last night. One detective said the drugs had not been cut or diluted, and had not been divided into packs for sale.
He described the apartment as "a kind of wholesaler's warehouse" from which the drugs were sold to other major dealers, who then sold on to street level sellers.
The find confirms earlier suggestions that cocaine is increasing in popularity in Dublin.