Gardaí have seized cocaine worth €8.4 million, which was flown into Co Longford, on a private plane.
Two men have been arrested and the plane was also seized by gardaí.
The 120-kilo haul was seized when officers attached to the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau, supported by other units, intercepted two vehicles shortly after 6pm at two locations in the Lough Owel area of Co. Westmeath.
Along with the significant haul of cocaine, gardaí also seized a light aircraft at a commercial airfield in Co. Longford, where it is believed the drugs were flown to.
The Drugs and Organized Crime Bureau was in charge of the garda operation.
Two men, aged 54 and 40, are being arrested at Dublin’s Ashbourne Garda Station on suspicion of trafficking drugs.
Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly, who is Head of Organised and Serious Crime, said the operation “has prevented a considerable quantity of dangerous drugs from making it onto our streets and causing significant harm to our communities”.
“An Garda Síochána is committed, under Operation Tara, to disrupting and dismantling the organised criminal networks who profit from drug trafficking and impact so negatively on our society,” he added.