Limerick Gardaí seize four guns, €400k in drugs and cash in two-day crime raids

Gardaí in Limerick recovered four firearms, ammunition, and over €400,000 in suspected cocaine and cannabis edibles across two planned operations targeting organised crime groups.

Four firearms and €400,000 in drugs seized in Limerick anti-crime raids

Limerickpost.ie reports that Gardaí in Limerick removed four guns, ammunition, and significant quantities of drugs from circulation following a series of planned operations targeting local organised crime groups on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

The two separate operations, both led by the Limerick Divisional Drugs Unit (DDU), resulted in the recovery of over €400,000 worth of suspected cocaine and cannabis edibles, four firearms, bullets, and more than €9,000 in cash.

On Tuesday (September 22), Gardaí executed a search warrant obtained at Limerick District Court on a house in the city. That raid yielded four firearms, ammunition, suspected cannabis edibles estimated at over €127,000, suspected cocaine valued at €4,500, and a quantity of cash. The firearms will undergo further technical analysis, while the drugs are to be forwarded to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for examination.

A man in his 60s was arrested in connection with Tuesday's seizure and was being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.

The previous day, Gardaí searched a house at Stenson Park, Farranshone, on the outskirts of Limerick City, seizing suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of €275,000 along with over €9,000 in cash. A man in his 20s was being questioned in connection with that operation. Those drugs are also to be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis, with investigations described as ongoing.

The DDU was assisted by other regional and local Garda units across both searches, which formed part of wider investigations into the sale and supply of drugs in the region. Gardaí confirmed the two operations were unconnected.

Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan said the sale and supply of drugs — particularly cocaine and crack cocaine — had "engulfed communities across the city and county." He welcomed separate news that a former crack cocaine den at the St Mary's Park estate had been taken into the ownership of Limerick City and County Council. The local authority confirmed it had lodged plans to develop the property and two adjoining houses, also taken into council ownership, into a base for children's charity Barnardos.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)