Army assisted gardaí for Taughmon operation

A number of army and garda vehicles arrived at a location in Taughmon on Thursday last for a major joint operation.

It is understood that personnel from both forces remained in place for several hours, as searches were conducted.

A defence forces spokesperson stated that they had received a C70 request for assistance from An Garda Síochána "in relation to an operation in the Mullingar area".

However, he said, it was An Garda Síochána that was the lead agency for this operation.

A C70 request is essentially a formal mechanism for Gardaí to request Defence Forces assistance in support of a civil operation.

A garda spokesperson explained that he was not in a position to give further information on the search.

"The Press Office does not comment on ongoing investigations," he said.