Cocaine worth €11,000 seized after car stopped at Athlone checkpoint

A routine stop at a Garda checkpoint in Athlone resulted in the seizure of some €11,000 worth of cocaine earlier this week.

Local Gardai were conducting a drink driving checkpoint on the Dublin Road in the town when the vehicle was stopped on Monday evening.

An Athlone Garda spokesperson said the officers operating the checkpoint became suspicious and searched the vehicle under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

This resulted in the male driver and the other occupant of the car, also a male, being arrested and brought to Athlone Garda Station where they were searched.

According to the Garda spokesperson the individual searches and searches of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of cocaine with a total estimated value of €11,000.

The two men have since been released without charge and a file is to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).