A MAN IN his 20s has been charged after  €1.25 million worth of cannabis was seized in an operation in Co Kildare earlier this week.

The joint intelligence led operation was conducted by Gardaí from the Garda National Drugs and Organized Crime Bureau and Revenue’s Customs Service.

The operation was conducted in the Athy area where 62.5 kilograms of cannabis, worth around €1.25 million, was seized by Revenue Officers.

Gardaí located a further €12,000 of suspected cocaine in a follow-up search.

Yesterday, two men, one in his 20s and the other in his 30s, were arrested as part of the investigation.

The man in his 30′s was today released without charge pending a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

In an update this afternoon, An Garda Síochana said a third man aged in his 40s was arrested by gardaí in Carlow yesterday evening in connection with the investigation. He is currently being detained at a Garda Station in the Co Carlow area.

Contains reporting by Diarmuid Pepper