A MAN HAS been arrested after gardaí seized cocaine with an estimated street value of €60,000 in Tuam, Co Galway, yesterday.

As part of Operation Tara, gardaí attached to the Galway Divisional Drugs Unit seized the cocaine and arrested a man in his 30s following a search in Tuam.

Gardaí carried out a search under warrant at a domestic residence yesterday afternoon and seized the cocaine, along with drug paraphernalia.

The man who was arrested was detained under section two of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at the North Western Regional HQ.

The man was later released without charge. A file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The drugs seized will be sent to undergo further analysis. Investigations are ongoing.

This seizure was part of Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy which was launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on 2 July 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”, a garda statement noted.