Following the discovery of €170,000 worth of cocaine and the detainment of a 35-year-old male, authorities in Ireland believe they have successfully interrupted a significant drug trafficking route into the northern part of Cork. The operation, which was pre-planned, took place on Monday evening.
Local law enforcement from Fermoy and Mitchelstown, alongside investigators from the Cork County Divisional Drug Unit, conducted a vehicle search on Thomas Street in Mitchelstown just past 9pm. The search resulted in the discovery of close to 2.5kg of cocaine.
The sole driver and occupant of the vehicle, a Cahir-based man from County Tipperary, was apprehended and subsequently taken to the Fermoy Garda station. He was interrogated in relation to the narcotics, which the authorities suppose were headed for the local drug market in North Cork.
As per Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act of 1996, the suspect can be kept in custody for a period of up to seven days before a decision to either charge or let him go is made.
This is not the first drug seizure in the northern and eastern regions of Cork, carried out as part of Operation Tara launched by Commissioner Drew Harris in July 2021. The objective of this operation is to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks.
The bolstered countrywide strategy against drugs is targeting entities at all stages – international, national and local, involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, sale, and supply of illicit substances.