Gardai quiz two men after airplane and €8.4m worth of cocaine seized in major drugs bust

The suspects aged 54 and 40 are being questioned at Ashbourne Garda Station following their arrests near Mullingar yesterday evening.

On Thursday, Garda from the National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau intercepted two vehicles, shortly after 6pm, at 2 locations in the Lough Owel area.

During the search, 120kg of suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of €8.4 million was recovered along with several communications devices.

Follow up searches were conducted at homes in Naas, Co Kildare and Waterford City, as well as at a commercial airfield in Co. Longford where a light aircraft was been seized.

Two men aged 54 and 40 were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and are currently being detained at Ashbourne Garda Station.

Investigations are ongoing.

"This operation has prevented a considerable quantity of dangerous drugs from making it onto our streets and causing significant harm to our communities,” Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly, the Head of Organised and Serious Crime said.

“An Garda Síochána is committed, under Operation Tara, to disrupting and dismantling the organised criminal networks who profit from drug trafficking and impact so negatively on our society.”