GARDAÍ HAVE SEIZED €610k worth of catalytic converters following an operation in Dublin today.

Officers attached to the Divisional Crime Task Force in north Dublin said they arrested a man as part of an ongoing investigation into the theft of the car parts.

On Friday, converters with an estimated value of €480,000 were seized in Dublin Port.

In a follow-up operation yesterday a vehicle was stopped by Gardaí on the N7. In the course of a search of the vehicle, 23 catalytic converters valued at €23,000 were seized.

A further search was carried out a storage facility in the Dublin 11 where 135 converters, valued at €108,000, were also recovered.

A male in his 30s was arrested as a result and detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Ballymun Garda station.

He has since been released without charge with a file now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.