Seven arrested in major operation involving Kilkenny garda and drugs unit

Regional crime and drug units, including those from Kilkenny and Carlow, played their part in ongoing investigations as part of Operation Tara, which was scaled up on Monday.

The operation is targeting organised crime, and is led by personnel from the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) who conducted an operation which commenced on Monday, February 16, 2026.

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This follows a significant nationwide investigation targeting the criminal activity of a number of participants and the leadership of a criminal organisation suspected of being involved in carrying out a number of serious drug-related intimidation attacks nationally.

This operation involved the search of 16 residential and business premises and the arrest on Monday of three (3) men (aged 30s and 40s) as well as one (1) woman (aged 30s) under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 as amended.

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These four (4) individuals were detained under Section 50 of Criminal Justice Act 2007 and Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a number of garda stations nationally.

The three (3) men and the woman have since been released without charge pending submission of a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Today (Thursday), a further three (3) men (aged 30s and 40s) were arrested pursuant to offences under Section 71A and 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 as amended.
 
These three individuals are currently detained pursuant to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at garda stations in Dublin and the midlands.

During the course of the search operation, 12 vehicles were seized with concealments located in a number of these along with €32,668 in cash, 2kg of cannabis and number of electronic devices including phones and laptops.

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The units involved in supporting GNDOCB in this ongoing investigations and this search and arrest operation included:

• Emergency Response Unit
• The Garda Dog Unit
• The Garda National Immigration Bureau
• The Stolen Motor Vehicles Investigation Unit
• Dublin Crime Response Team
• Regional Crime and Drug Units from Dublin, Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Carlow/Kilkenny

Investigations are ongoing.

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