Galway gardaí seized €21,000 worth of suspected cocaine and detained two men after a routing traffic stop in Galway City yesterday evening.
The suspected cocaine was recovered by members of the Galway Roads Policing Unit following a traffic stop at approximately 7pm in Bushy Park on Monday.
Gardaí stopped a car with two men inside, the driver, who was in his 30s, and a passenger who was a man in his early 20s.
The passenger got out and fled on foot when gardaí stopped the vehicle, and was seen placing a white package into a gap in a wall.
The package was recovered and is believed to contain roughly €21,000 worth of cocaine, pending further analysis.
The driver of the vehicle was given a roadside test on the back of this, and tested positive for the presence of opiates and cannabis. A further sample has been sent for analysis.
Both men were arrested and detained at the North Western Regional Headquarters under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.
The man in his 20s has been released without charge, and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The man in his 30s remains in custody this morning.
Members of the Galway Drugs Unit conducted a follow up search arising from this matter but nothing was detected.
Galway RPU on #Covid19 patrol stopped driver of car, arrested on suspicion of drug driving, following search of passenger €21,000 of Cocaine (subject to analysis) recovered. Car seized & both arrested. Proceedings to follow#StayAtHomeAndStaySafe. pic.twitter.com/izd3fS2AoL
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) April 21, 2020