Gardaí have seized an estimated €140,000 worth of cocaine after stopping a car in the Ballinasloe area.

Members of the Galway Garda County Divisional Drugs Unit stopped the car in Ballinasloe town last Monday evening  – the driver of the vehicle and a passenger were arrested.

Gardaí who stopped the vehicle, recovered two kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of €140,000 which has been sent to Dublin for laboratory analysis.

The car was stopped between 5pm and 6pm by officers involved in the Galway Garda specialist drugs unit – both occupants were questioned at Ballinasloe Garda Station under Section 15 of the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act,.

This related to the possession of controlled drugs for unlawful sale or supply – one of the two men arrested is understood to be in his late teens and the other in his early 20s. They will be appearing in court.

A Galway Garda spokesperson said that the latest drugs seizure was part of an ongoing, targeted operation aimed at disrupting the sale and supply of illegal drugs.

“This find is the latest in a number of illegal drugs seized by Gardaí across the county over recent weeks. Substantial amounts of property, cash, designer watches and vehicles have also been seized,” said the Garda spokesperson.

On the Friday morning of August 25, Gardaí carried out seven early morning searches at locations across Galway city and county, during which close on €250,000 worth of drugs, cash, designer watches and vehicles were seized.

Gardaí also seized €21,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis as well as €20,000 in cash in the Ballinasloe area on August 17 last. Three days before that, Garda Drugs Unit officers seized €10,000 worth of cocaine and €18,000 worth of cash in the Gort area.