
Man (50s) charged after seizure of herbal cannabis worth €1.8m in Co Louth
The man, in his 50s, is expected to appear before a sitting of Dundalk District Court this morning.
Around 90kg of herbal cannabis was seized as part of an intelligence led-operation conducted by Revenue's Customs Service, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Louth Divisional Drugs Unit.
The man who was arrested was detained at a Garda station in Co Louth under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act 1996.
"The drugs seized will be forwarded to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis,' a garda spokesperson said previously.
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