11 military-grade guns found in searches in Kildare and Laois
Searches carried out at six locations across Kildare and Laois
Military-grade firearms and drugs worth more than €700,000 have been seized following a major Garda operation targeting organised criminal activity in counties Kildare and Laois.
The intelligence-led operation, carried out between July 10 and 12 under Operation Tara, involved officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), supported by Gardaí from the Eastern Region, the Dublin Crime Response Team and the Emergency Response Unit.
Searches were conducted at six locations across the two counties, resulting in the seizure of 11 military-grade firearms, including three machine guns and eight pistols, along with ammunition, silencers and quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis.
The drugs have an estimated street value of more than €700,000.
Two men, both aged in their 40s, were arrested during the operation and are being detained at Garda stations in the Midlands under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
The firearms will undergo technical examination by the Ballistics Section of the Garda Technical Bureau, while the seized drugs will be analysed by Forensic Science Ireland. Investigations are continuing.
Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis said the seizure represented "a significant disruption of organised criminal activity" and demonstrated An Garda Síochána's commitment to protecting communities from serious and organised crime.
She said the recovery of military-grade firearms and substantial quantities of drugs had removed dangerous weapons and harmful substances from circulation while preventing significant criminal profits.
The Kildare and Laois searches formed part of a wider week of activity under Operation Tara, during which Gardaí arrested 11 people and seized more than €9 million worth of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, cannabis and cannabis-infused vape products and jellies.
Operation Tara, launched in 2021, is An Garda Síochána's enhanced national anti-drugs strategy aimed at disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking networks operating at international, national and local level. The latest operation was also supported through cooperation under the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).