Five people arrested as drugs and imitation firearm seized in Co Wicklow

Five people have been arrested as part of an operation targeting those suspected of committing burglaries and theft offences in Co. Wicklow.

Uniform gardaí from across the county were assisted by the Detective Unit, Roads Policing Unit, Garda Armed Support Unit and Air Support Unit during today’s planned operation.

Together they conducted searches of 13 locations early this morning targeting those involved in burglary, theft and drug-related offences in the county.

During these searches, five people were arrested and are currently detained at Garda Stations in the south east region.

An imitation firearm has been seized and will be sent for ballistic analysis.

Gardaí also conducted more than 80 checkpoints over the course of today’s day-of-action.

Friday’s operation follows the arrest of 12 other people over the past 10 days who have been wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court.

Furthermore, more than €100,000 worth of drugs have been seized by gardaí in the past two weeks, and two people have been arrested.

One person is now before the courts in connection with this seizure in Co. Wicklow.

Throughout the day crime and burglary patrols, both covert and high visibility, were carried out along with a series of checkpoints.

A number of road traffic and crime related detections were made.

Commenting on this activity, Chief Superintendent Derek Hughes from the Wexford Wicklow Division said, "When a person’s home is broken into or someone has had their possessions taken from them, it can leave a lasting impact and really affect their sense of safety and privacy. It’s an invasion and causes huge upset.

"Gardaí across Wicklow have been working around the clock to fully investigate the crimes that have been committed, and are determined to continue detecting and preventing criminals from profiting from the hardship of others – our work this month demonstrates our commitment to robustly investigate and prosecute offenders who engage in this type of crime.”