Man arrested following €56,000 cocaine seizure in Galway

A man in his 30s was arrested during the course of the operation, which took place in the Castlepark area of the city

Gardaí seized approximately €56,000 worth of suspected cocaine and €1,800 worth of suspected cannabis during a raid on a premises in Galway city last night.

A man in his 30s was arrested during the course of the operation, which took place in the Castlepark area of the city around 8:20pm. He is currently being detained at a Garda station in Galway.

The seized substances are being transferred to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for analysis, and investigations are ongoing.

The raid was carried out as part of Operation Tara, which was launched in 2021 with the aim of tackling street-level drug dealing in cities, towns and villages across the country.

“Gardaí seized approximately €56,000 of suspected cocaine and arrested one man during the course of a search in Galway city on the evening of Sunday 26th November 2023,” said a Garda spokesman.

“The search, which was undertaken as part of Operation Tara by the Galway Divisional Drug Unit, occurred at a residence in the Castlepark area of the city at approximately 8:20pm.

“Approximately €56,000 of suspected cocaine and €1,800 of suspected cannabis was seized during the course of the search. The seized drugs will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for analysis,” he added.

“A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene. He is currently being detained at a Garda station in Galway under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996. Investigations are ongoing.”

Operation Tara seeks to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks at all levels involved in the importation, distribution, production and supply of controlled drugs.

Last week, a man was arrested in Kerry after gardaí stopped a vehicle and found cocaine with an estimated value of over €87,000 as part of the same operation.

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