THREE PEOPLE ARE due to appear in court this morning charged in connection with the seizure of cannabis plants worth an estimated €640,000.

Nine people were arrested over the weekend in connection with the seizure. 

Gardaí said that they had made the seizure and the arrests as part of an intelligence-led operation targeting an organised crime group involved in the supply of controlled drugs.

The operation involved gardaí from the South Eastern Region and the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau carrying out a number of searches in the Dublin and Wexford areas.

During the searches a cannabis cultivation unit was discovered in a commercial premises in the north inner city area of Dublin. 

Over 800 cannabis plants at various stages of growth were discovered with an estimated value of €640,000 (pending analysis) were seized. 

Four people were arrested at the scene. Further searches were also carried out in locations in Wexford and five further arrests were made. 

Those arrested included six Portuguese nationals (all male), one UK national (male), and a man and woman from Ireland. They range in age from 17 to 45 years.

Three males are due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin at 10.30am charged in connection with the seizure. 

Two other people have been released without charge and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. 

Four people remain in custody. 

With reporting by Cormac Fitzgerald

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