Twenty pipe bombs seized by gardaí in Co Louth
Twenty pipe bombs were found by
gardaí
in Ardee, Co
Louth
on Wednesday.
The explosives were discovered following an intelligence-led operation linked to the seizure of cannabis valued at €190,000 on April 29th.
A cordon was established around the find and the Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team attended the scene.
The EOD team examined the suspect devices and subsequently made them safe. The devices were removed from the area for further examination and the cordon lifted.
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Meanwhile, in a separate operation, gardaí targeted a criminal gang suspected of being involved in organised prostitution and money laundering with a series of searches.
More than 100 gardaí conducted the searches across the Greater Dublin Area and Kildare and Meath on Wednesday morning.
Two men were arrested on foot of court bench warrants and a third man is being detained in relation to the sale and supply of controlled drugs.
The operation was led by detectives from the serious crime unit based at the Bridewell Garda station in Dublin, supported by the Dublin crime response team (DCRT), the Garda national protective services bureau and the garda national economic crime bureau.
In a statement gardaí said: 'An Garda Síochána regularly conduct targeted operations to safeguard individuals in the sex trade, investigate organised prostitution, and prosecute offenders particularly those involved in controlling, organising or directing the offering of sexual services for profit.'
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