Man arrested as gardaí seize over €218k of cannabis at Monaghan growhouse

Eva Osborne

A man has been arrested after gardaí seized over €218,000 worth of suspected cannabis plants and cannabis herb during a search operation in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan on Wednesday.

At approximately 1:00pm, gardaí attached to the Monaghan Divisional Drugs Unit assisted by local uniform and detective gardaí searched a residential premises under warrant near Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.

The search was conducted as part of an ongoing investigation, under Operation Tara, targeting suspected cannabis growhouses in the area.

During the course of the search, a sophisticated cannabis cultivation operation was discovered.

Cannabis plants with a potential value of €118,400 and suspected vacuum-packed cannabis with a value of €100,200 was seized by investigating gardaí.

The total amount of suspected drugs seized has an estimated value of €218,600 (subject to analysis).

All of the seized drugs will undergo further analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).

One male, 40s, was arrested at the scene and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda station in County Monaghan.

He has since been charged and is expected to appear before Cavan District Court on Thursday.

Investigations are ongoing.