A GARDA OPERATION targeting the supply of drugs into prisons has seen two men arrested and the seizure an estimated €40,000 worth of controlled drugs.

Gardaí also found and seized a “high-tech” drone, a number of phones and additional smuggled goods.

A Garda spokesperson outlined that it came as part of ongoing investigations targeting the supply of controlled substances into prisons in west Dublin.

Up to €5 million worth of contraband was smuggled into Irish prisons in the first half of this year, according to figures released by the Prison Officers Association.

The drone seized by gardaí during yesterday's operation. Garda Press Office Garda Press Office

The two men, both aged in their 40s, were arrested at the scene and are currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at a garda station in the Dublin region.

It came about after the Dublin Crime Response Team stopped a vehicle as part of a planned operation in the Dublin 22 area yesterday afternoon.

The suspected drugs – cocaine, heroin, cannabis and MDMA – were individually wrapped and packaged for smuggling according to gardaí.