Organised crime: Gardaí arrest 64 in Carlow and Kilkenny

Officers raid 29 houses and business premises and seize drugs worth €34,000

Some of the items seized in Co Carlow and Co Kilkenny today by gardaí as part of Operation Thor. Photograph: Garda Síochána
Some of the items seized in Co Carlow and Co Kilkenny today by gardaí as part of Operation Thor. Photograph: Garda Síochána

Sixty-four people have been arrested in Co Carlow and Co Kilkenny during an extensive Garda anti-crime operation.

Officers raided 29 houses and a business premises and seized drugs worth €34,000 including heroin, ecstasy, cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines.

The arrests were carried out as part of Operation Thor, which was launched in 2015 and specifically targets organised crime.

The large-scale operation included more than 130 gardaí, 50 students from the Garda college and a visiting group of 30 European police officers who were present at checkpoints as observers.

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Cannabis growhouse

It led to the discovery of a cannabis growhouse in Castlecomer where plants with an estimated value of €4,000 were seized.

Sixty checkpoints were established across the Kilenny-Carlow Division during Thursday.

A handgun was found during a search of a house in Kilkenny city.

Twenty-two people were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act for a range of suspected offences including theft, assault, fraud, misuse of drugs and burglary.

A further 33 were arrested on foot of committal and penal warrants.

"The objective of the operation is to disrupt criminals living in and travelling through the Kilkenny-Carlow Division," Chief Supt Dominic Hayes said in a statement.

“Criminals will be deterred from committing crime in an area perceived as being heavily policed. This operation will also assist in the detection of criminal offences through proactive policing activities.”

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard is a reporter with The Irish Times