CANNABIS WORTH £140,000 SEIZED

GARDAI in Co. Cork yesterday seized cannabis resin with a street value of
£140,000.

Late last night two men were still being held at Midleton Garda station
following the operation.

At 9 a.m. yesterday, Cobh gardai, under the direction of Supt Kieran
McGann, swooped on a remote woodland in the Leamlara area of Co. Cork and
arrested two men, who were moving the drugs from a hiding place in the
forest to a nearby car.

The men, who are believed to be part of a Cork criminal gang, were
understood to have been under Garda surveillance for some time before the
operation swung into action.

The men were arrested under Section 25 of the Misuse of Drugs Act and taken
to Midleton.

Last night, they were still being questioned.

Under the Drugs Trafficking Act, those arrested can be held without charge
for seven days.

The drugs, the origin of which is as yet uncertain, are thought to have
been destined for the Cork city market.

The area some miles north west of Midleton where the drugs were concealed
was cordoned off and Supt McGann said an extensive search of the woodland
area would be conducted today.

It was too early to tell if there were further caches of drugs in the area,
Supt McGann said.

Yesterday's operation can be viewed as a major blow to the criminal
underworld which controls the illegal drugs trade in Cork