STING OF FIRE
Three arrested as €1million worth of drugs found following blaze at industrial unit
A DRUGS distribution network has been busted after a fire broke out in a building where at least €1million worth of cocaine and ecstasy was being stored.
Three men were last night being questioned about the seizure at an industrial unit in Drogheda, Co Louth.
The discovery was made when a fire broke out in a building at Tubberboyce Lane in the Mell area of the town in the early hours of yesterday.
When fire crews and gardai searched the building, they found what appeared to be a drugs factory in another part of the building.
The officers found large bags of tablets understood to be ecstasy and slabs of cocaine.
A source said there was at least €1million worth of narcotics in the building but the total value could be as high as €3million.
The sources said it appeared at least some of the cocaine was in the process of being “cut” and mixed with other agents to add bulk.
It is understood an area of the building had been sectioned off and appeared to have been converted into living quarters.
The site was sealed off yesterday as gardai forensic experts carried out an examination of the building.
Two Audi cars believed to belong to the arrested men, thought to be from Poland and Lithuania, were also being examined.
A local man familiar with the area said the unit had been rented out some time ago and was supposedly to be used by a car cleaning firm.
He said: “I think it was rented by a Polish guy who was supposed to be opening a car valeting business but it never happened.
“We often saw a van coming and going but apart from that there was nothing unusual.” Fire crews remained at the scene for most of yesterday and at one stage the fire appeared to reignite.
The three men were last night being held at Drogheda Garda station and can be questioned for up to a week.
This is the second time in less than a month that gardai have made a drug seizure as a result of a fire in the Drogheda area.
An elaborate drugs operation was uncovered after a man died when a boiler exploded in a house at Beaulieu just outside the town on November 15.
A young woman, the dead man’s wife, along with a man in his 50s were injured in the blast.
When officers inspected the rented property they found a cannabis growhouse in an industrial premises at the rear of the house.
Up to 200 mature cannabis plants with an estimated street value of €150,000 were found.