SEVENTEEN PEOPLE WERE arrested by gardaí as part of an operation in Cork city yesterday.

The arrests were in relation to a number of incidents including suspected possession of images of child sexual abuse, assault, burglary, theft, and drugs and immigration offences.

A man in his 40s was arrested in the Ovens area in relation to suspected possession of images of child sexual abuse. He was detained at Gurranabraher Garda Station and has since been released. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Five people were arrested for immigration offences and have since been returned to Spain.

Three people were arrested on foot of bench warrants and were brought before the courts.

Eight people were arrested for drugs, burglary and theft offences. They have all since been released and a file will be prepared for the DPP.

A total of six premises were searched under warrant, which resulted in the seizure of small quantities of suspected MDMA, cocaine and cannabis (subject to analysis).

The operations conducted were carried out by local gardaí alongside detectives, the Immigration Unit, Drugs Unit, Roads Policing Unit, Dog Unit and the Armed Support Unit.

‘Day of action’ 

The arrests were made during an Operation Thor ‘day of action’ in the Cork city area. 

Four checkpoints were conducted on Wellington Road, Middle Glanmire Road, South Link Road and North Ring Road. Over 2,000 vehicles passed through the checkpoints and 10 road traffic offences were detected.

Community Policing Units were out giving advice to cyclists about bicycle safety and crime prevention. Gardaí also spoke to members of the public about how they can keep their homes more secure.

A talk was also held with a fast food chain which has restaurants throughout the city on topics such as dealing with anti-social behaviour, crime prevention, substance abuse, safety awareness and personal safety.

The purpose of these ‘days of action’ is to prevent crime, disrupt criminal activity and enhance community engagement.