THE latest Garda drugs raid last week in the Ballyglunin area of North Galway, which netted €40,000 worth of cannabis, has brought the total value of illegal drugs seized in the county over the past month to close on quarter of a million euros.

Members of the Galway Garda Divisional Drugs Unit also uncovered in their Ballyglunin operation an underground bunker where some of the illegal drugs were being stored – a man in his fifties was arrested at the scene.

Gardaí have confirmed that the man has since been released after being questioned under Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act – the unlawful sale and supply of drugs – with a file being prepared for forwarding to the DPP.

Cannabis herb with an estimated street value of over €32,000 was seized in the Ballyglunin raid last Thursday, February 20, as well as €8,000 worth of cannabis plants and €11,000 in cash in what was ‘an intelligence led’ Garda operation.

On February 7, officers from the Galway Garda Divisional Drugs Unit seized €90,000 worth of cannabis and €37,000 worth of cocaine in an operation which targeted a house in the Athenry-Craughwell area.

A man in his thirties was arrested at the scene and questioned at a Garda station in Galway before being released, with a file forwarded to the DPP.

Drugs officers who raided a house in the Portumna area on February 6 seized cocaine with an estimated street value of €52,000 – a male in his early thirties was arrested at the scene, with a file also being prepared for forwarding to the DPP.

A series of raids on properties in the Galway city area from February 10 to 14 resulted in the seizure of drugs to the value of almost €22,000 including cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines.

A total of €3,000 in cash was also confiscated – files are also being forwarded to the DPP in relation to four people who were questioned at the scenes of the searches.

In a separate Garda operation involving members of the Longford/Roscommon Drugs Unit, €82,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis was seized in the Ballybride area of Roscommon on Thursday last, February 20. A man in his twenties has been charged in relation to that seizure.

Garda Detective Superintendent, Shane Cummins, told the Connacht Tribune that the drugs seizures were part of an ongoing Garda operation targeting those involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs.

“The sale and supply of illegal drugs is a major source of organised crime activity in Galway and indeed all across the country.

“We have devoted a lot of resources and personnel to tackle this kind of activity and there will no let-up in the intensity of our ongoing campaign to tackle the sourcing, sale and supply of illegal drugs,” said Det. Supt Cummins.

Pictured: Garda Detective Superintendent, Shane Cummins