Gardaí have seized approximately €1.976m of illegal tablets following a number of searches in Dublin on Friday.
The Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) made the discovery following a planned operation targeting the main supply of illegal tablets in Dublin City Centre, called Operation Citizen.
The operation involved the stop and search of a car in the South Dublin area.
A total of 10,000 Zopiclone and Alprazolam tablets, valued at €20,000 were recovered during the search.
A number of planned searches were then carried out across the Dublin Metropolitan Region, a Garda spokesperson said.
A further 965,000 Zopiclone and Alprazolam tablets, valued at approximately €1.93m, were discovered following the search of a premises in South Dublin.
A further search of a premises in Dublin City Centre recovered over 13,000 Zopiclone and Alprazolam tablets valued at over €26,000.
Two further of searches in DMR West and South recovered approximately €4,5000 cash and evidence relating to the trafficking of drugs across the DMR.
The total value of the drugs recovered is €1,976,000.
Two men, aged in their 50s and 30s, have been arrested and are currently being held at separate Garda Stations in the city under Section 2 Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.
The man in his 30s has been charged and is due to appear before the evening sitting of Court 1, Criminal Court of Justice Dublin, on Saturday evening.
Chief Superintendent Patrick McMenamin said the “significant seizure” was made as part of an ongoing investigation to tackle “street level sale and supply of drugs in Dublin city centre”.
“This investigation has disrupted a major supply line of drugs into the City Centre, and demonstrates An Garda Síochána’s commitment to keeping people safe and disrupting the criminal activities of those who cause harm and inflict misery in our communities,” he said.
