Three charged as gardaí seize €90K haul of cocaine and cannabis in Laois

The seizure was made following a search operation of a property in Portlaoise just before 8.30pm on Tuesday, May 10th.

During the search, gardaí attached to the Laois Divisional Drugs Unit, the Detective Branch, and uniformed gardaí from Portlaoise Garda Station seized cocaine with an approximate street value of €50,000 and cannabis herb with an approximate street value of €40,000.

The drugs will now be sent for analysis.

Three men, two aged in their late teens and one aged in his early 20s, were arrested as part of the operation and taken to Portlaoise Garda Station where they were detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

The have since been charged and were due to appear before Portlaoise District Court this morning, Thursday 12 May at 10.30am.

This seizure forms part of Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, which was launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on July 2, 2021.

The focus of Operation Tara is to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks, at all levels - international, national, local - involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale and supply of controlled drugs.