Heroin seized in Athlone

A substantial quantity of heroin was seized in the town following a  search of a local premises last week.

Gardai conducted a search of apartments in the Irishtown area of the town around 4pm last Thursday (May 12) where they discovered heroin with a street value of €10,000.

A man in his 30s was subsequently arrested and brought to Athlone Garda Station for questioning. He was released some time later without charge, pending preparation of a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions due to the size of the seizure.

Meanwhile, a man in his 20s was arrested on Monday in relation to three separate incidents where large quantities of fuel were taken from three local filling stations last week.

The incidents, which happened in Ballymore, Walderstown and Glasson saw several large drums of petrol and diesel being filled up and never paid for on May 7, 10, 12 last. In each incident over €100 or so of fuel was taken.

A man in his 20s was arrested on Monday in Monday in Mullingar and brought to Athlone, where he was later charged with three counts of theft. He is due to appear in Athlone District Court on June 8 next.

Separately, the Athlone Fire Service spent over three hours working to extinguish a blaze which broke out at a disused industrial premises on the Clonown Road last weekend.

Colm McDaid of the town’s Fire Service said it attended the scene, along with the Gardai, at 3am on Sunday morning last.

A fire had broken out in an office area of the premises, and Mr McDaid said it was not clear how it had started.
He stated that the office area of the building was badly affected, but the main floor area was not.

The fire service remained at the scene until 6.30am.

Sergeant Michelle Baker said the Gardai were not treating the fire as suspicious.
“At this stage there is nothing to suggest that the fire was malicious,” said Sergeant Baker.