Gardaí have seized six stolen cars as part of a crackdown on organised crime in the east of the country.
The Operation Thor sting targeted a gang believed to have stolen vehicles from residential areas in Dublin.
Cannabis worth an estimated €80,000 was also found during a series of searches yesterday.
In the first operation, gardaí stopped and searched a car on the N11 in Wexford.
A man in his 50s was arrested at the scene after suspected stolen car parts were discovered.
The suspect is being detained at Tallaght garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, as amended.
Three cars – an Audi A4, an Audi A3 and VW Golf – were subsequently recovered during a follow-up search in Meath.
Four kilos of cannabis herb were also taken from the premises in the Summerhill area.
Three more vehicles – Audi A5, an Audi A1 and a Hyundai Tuscan – were confiscated during a search of a property in Wicklow. They are all believed to have been stolen in burglaries.
Gardaí described the seizures as a “significant result” in targeting the crime gang in question.
They said a wider investigation into the distribution network for stolen car parts is ongoing.