Two men arrested after large cocaine seizure in Waterford city

Gardaí have seized €78,390 worth of drugs following a search operation in Waterford City on Thursday 25th August, as part of Operation Tara,.

At approximately 8:45pm yesterday evening, Gardaí conducted a search of a property in Ferrybank, Waterford City. 

During the course of the search, 1.1kg of cocaine, with a value of €76,650, was discovered. A further €1,740 worth of cannabis was also discovered during the search.

All of the drugs seized will now be sent for further analysis.

Two males, one aged in his 20s and the other in his teens were arrested as a result and are currently being detained under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking Act) 1996 at Waterford Garda station.

This seizure forms part of Operation Tara; an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, which was launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on 2nd 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.

This is the second significant drugs seizure in Waterford in the past week. 

In a separate incident, gardai in Waterford seized heroin, crack cocaine and a quantity of cash following a surveillance operation in the city centre. 

A garda spokesperson confirmed that following a surveillance led operation a search conducted by the Waterford Drugs Unit in Waterford city centre on Wednesday resulted in a seizure of €2,800 of heroin and €1,610 of crack cocaine.