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Ireland Twenty kilos of heroin and 10 kilos of herbal cannabis, with an estimated street value of €4m, were recovered.

Twenty kilos of heroin and 10 kilos of herbal cannabis, with an estimated street value of €4m, were recovered.Twenty-seven firearms and a massive haul of drugs were seized today as two men were arrested in an international police operation against a trafficking gang.The man arrested in the North is aged 34 and from the South, the PSNI said. A 42-year-old man was detained in north Dublin and a second man was held in Belfast as a dozen raids were mounted along the east coast.A mini-arsenal of weapons was taken off the streets including four automatic handguns, silencers and pistols. A number of firearms were also recovered in the North.Gardaí, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Dutch police were all involved in the intelligence and surveillance led operation which has run for several months.Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said the arrests had damaged a powerful European drugs trafficking network.“We believe that this operation has made significant inroads into an international organised crime gang involved on a large scale in the importation of drugs and firearms into Ireland and the United Kingdom,” he said.The PSNI confirmed one man was taken into custody and a number of firearms seized in Belfast. The suspect was being questioned in the serious crime suite in Antrim.Gardaí said the second man was arrested in the Santry area and taken to Blanchardstown Garda station under anti-drugs trafficking law.The Commissioner added: “This extensive operation could not have been successfully concluded without absolute cooperation across all three jurisdictions.“It is an example of what is being achieved in our efforts to provide a safer living environment for all law-abiding members of the community through the removal of guns and drugs from our streets.”Irish, British and Dutch customs officials were also involved.Justice Minister Dermot Ahern praised the success of the operation.He said: “I want to congratulate the Garda Commissioner and his officers, together with international police forces, whose successful intelligence-led approach has resulted in a highly significant capture of a considerable quantity of illegal drugs and firearms.”PSNI Detective Superintendent Essie Adair said the arrests were extremely significant.“This is a significant operation targeting those involved in organised crime in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Europe,” the PSNI officer said.“The investigation has been ongoing for some time and has involved close liaison with colleagues in An Garda Síochána and the Dutch police service as well as HMRC (Revenue and Customs) and Irish Revenue Commissioners.“We believe that this operation has disrupted a major organised crime gang. Those involved in these types of crimes are living off the backs of communities and leaving misery and despair in their wake.”
The operation, codenamed Bench, has been going on for between four and six months.
It is understood the man arrested in the South was detained shortly before 4pm today following a surveillance operation by armed gardaí who followed him as he drove to an undisclosed location in Santry.Officers then swooped on the site as he got out of the vehicle and found the weapons and drugs packed inside.
Gardaí said more arrests could follow.
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