A man and woman were arrested on Monday as part of a Garda investigation into the activities of a criminal group involved in smuggling drugs and other items into Irish prisons.
The arrests of the two, both aged in their 20s, were made on Monday morning by gardaí attached to Crime South based at Lucan and Ronanstown stations.
In a statement on Monday evening, the Garda said both were detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at a Garda station in the Dublin region. They can be held for up to seven days. Investigations are ongoing, the statement said.
On April 8th last, as part of thetwo year investigation into the smuggling of controlled drugs and contraband into Wheatfield, Cloverhill and Mountjoy prisons, gardaí searched properties in Clondalkin, Ballyfermot, Coolock and Tallaght. Some cells in Mountjoy Prison were also searched.
During the searches of the properties, a number of miniature phones wrapped in insulation tape ready to be sent by drone to the prisons were seized.
Controlled drugs including €17,000 worth of cannabis, €5,000 of cocaine, and €3,000 in tablets were also seized, along with €22,000 in cash. A drone, Rolex watch, mobile phones, financial documents, improvised weapons and drug paraphernalia including weighing scales and bagging equipment were also found.
The Garda investigation comes following decades-long efforts by prison authorities to prevent drug and contraband smuggling into prisons. The problem has been exacerbated by criminals using commercially-available drones to deliver packages to prison inmates.