Evening Herald.  20/02/2007

A West Dublin drug dealer who sold heroin from the back of a taxi has been caught red handed with €9,000 worth of narcotics.

The dealer, in has 40s and from Finglas, was arrested with the drugs by gardai who stopped the taxi in the Fortlawn area of Blanchardstown.

Gardai searched the taxi that was carrying the man and discovered the heroin, which was ready to be cut and bagged, in the vehicle.  The man was moving the heroin to sell it on, gardai believe.

The man is well known to gardai and has over a dozen previous convictions, most of which are for larceny and criminal damage.

He is originally from the Finglas area but is known to have addresses in a number of areas across west Dublin.

Detectives believe that the man was using a taxi on a regular basis to drop large packages of heroin and cocaine to a number of other dealers' houses across Blanchardstown.

He reverted to using the cab as a cover in recent weeks because other cars used by himself and his partner are known to gardai.  The man's girlfriend is also a longstanding heroin dealer and both have their own serious drug habits.

Following his arrest on February 8^th last the man was taken to Blanchardstown garda station where he was detained under the Drug Trafficking Act for questioning.  He was later released from custody and is expected to make a court appearance next month.

The seizure is the latest heroin capture by gardai in Dublin's K District, which encompasses Blanchardstown, Finglas and Cabra.

Last Friday five people appeared in court charged with drug offences following an unrelated drugs operation in Finglas.

The five were charged as part of Operation Scarab, an offshoot of Operation Cleanstreets, which has involved top detectives working undercover.  All five, aged in their 20s and 30s, were remanded until next month on charges of possessing drugs and possessing drugs for sale and supply.

The five Finglas people charged at Dublin District Court were:  Sharon Burke, Dunsink Drive; Tarina Creighton, Cloonlara Road; Barbara Finnegan, Valley park Road; Robert Blake, Liam Mellowes Road, Finglas; and Niall Byrne, Cappagh Road.

They were arrested and charged after a 12-week operation spearheaded by gardai from Blanchardstown garda station.

Blake, Burke, Creighton and Finnegan all face three charges each of possession of drugs, and a further three charges of possession for unlawful sale or supply, on various dates and in the Finglas area.

Niall Byrne faces a single charge of possession and a single charge of possession for unlawful sale or supply.