GARDAÍ HAVE ARRESTED and charged three men following a search operation in Portlaoise, Co Laois, during which €90,000 worth of drugs were seized.

Gardaí attached to the Laois Divisional Drugs Unit, with assistance from the detective branch and gardaí from Portlaoise Garda Station, conducted a search in a residence in Portlaoise at approximately 8.20pm on Tuesday.

During the course of the search, gardaí seized cocaine with an approximate street value of €50,000 and cannabis herb with an approximate street value of €40,000. The drugs will now be sent for analysis.

Three men, two aged in their late teens and one aged in his early 20s, were arrested as part of the operation and taken to Portlaoise Garda Station where they were detained under section two of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.

The have since been charged and are due to appear before Portlaoise District Court at 10.30am today.

This seizure forms 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.

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