Gardai and Customs have made the first significant seizure of the recently banned head shop drug mephedrone.
An operation involving the Garda National Drug Unit (GNDU) and Customs yesterday seized 1.5kgs of mephedrone, with a street value of €52,500.
Detectives arrested two men at a house in Dublin’s south inner city in what they suspect was an attempt to re-establish a source of supply to users of the popular stimulant drug.
Investigation sources confirmed this was the first substantial seizure of mephedrone since it was banned by the Government on May 11.
Gardaí and Customs agreed a valuation of €35,000 for a kilo of mephedrone after it was made illegal.
Detectives also seized a kilo of cannabis herb, with a street valuation of €12,000.
Customs officers alerted the GNDU after a suspect parcel was detected coming through Dublin Airport. The package originated in China, which is thought to be the main source for the manufacture of head shop products.
The parcel was allowed through to its destination, a house near Donore Avenue, off South Circular Road, in Dublin’s south inner city.
The GNDU contacted the local drug unit, attached to Kevin Street Station, and a search was conducted.
Two males, one Irish and one Brazilian, were arrested under Section Two of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.
They are currently being held at Kevin Street Garda Station and can be detained for up to seven days.
The total drugs haul is estimated to be worth over €64,000 on the street.
Garda sources suspect the large haul of mephedrone may be part of an attempt to set up a new supply source for former users of the drug.
It is understood the two men, both aged in their 20s, were not known to gardaí.
This may suggest that people not previously engaged in criminality may now get involved in the potentially lucrative illegal trade.
Detectives will investigate if the men have contacts with the head shop trade.
Source: Cormac O'Keefe, The Irish Examiner, 30/07/2010
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