OVER ¤70,000 worth of cannabis was seized by gardai during a raid in the Ramelton area on Monday night. In what was one of the single biggest drug finds of its kind in the county the cannabis was found in the grounds of a house in the Letterkenny Road area.
A 24 years old local man was arrested and held under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act at Letterkenny Garda Station. Speaking to the Donegal News, Superintendent Jim Gallagher, said the find was highly significant in their battle against the scourge of drugs in the county. He said the operation was an ongoing investigation into drug dealing in the Letterkenny-Ramelton areas.
"This is without doubt one of the single biggest finds of its kind in Donegal. These drugs would have been for sale in places like Letterkenny and other parts of East Donegal. This raid has made a major dent in the drugs business in this area," Superintendent Gallagher said.
"The search was carried out under warrant as a result of surveillance and intelligence. The cannabis was found in a plastic bag and was made up of 9oz bars. It could have come in from Pakistan," he added.
Up to ten gardai including uniformed officers, members of the Detective Branch and the Divisional Drugs Unit swooped on a house at Letterkenny Road, Ramelton at around 9pm on Monday. Gardai would not be specific about where exactly the drugs were found except to say they were in a bag in the grounds of the house.
"The area was forensically examined and a man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in Letterkenny. He is being held under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act. This was a hugely significant find and it is worrying that such a large quantity of cannabis was found but clearly it shows the market is there for such drugs," Superintendent Gallagher said.
The cannabis was at the wholesale stage according to gardai and had not been cut up for smaller deals.
"I want to pay tribute to the gardai from the various units who were involved in this operation for their professionalism and intelligence work," he said.
