Gardai uncover cannabis growhouse in athlone

Six people have been arrested following searches on three separate premises in Athlone over the past 24 hours, which led to Gardai uncovering a cannabis growhouse in the Rindoon area last night.

At about 7pm yesterday gardai carried out a search on a house in the Rindoon area and uncovered a growhouse at the back of the house.

They found 20 mature cannabis plants and a quantity of cannabis herb that had been prepared for sale. The plants and herb had a combined value in the region of €12,000 to €15,000.

Two men in their late 20s and a woman in her mid 20s were arrested. They were detained at Athlone Garda Station for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. Their time of detention has been extended and they remain in custody.

Separately, under another planned operation, gardai searched two houses in the Willow Park area and uncovered cannabis herb, which was ready for distribution, to the value of €6,000.

One man and two women, all aged between 19 and 21, were arrested and are currently detained at Athlone Garda Station for questioning.

The operations were carried out by members of the detective branch and drugs unit at Athlone Garda Station.