Man in court over £1.2m gold bullion seizure

A 55-year-old man has appeared in court in connection with the seizure of gold bullion worth €1.4m (£1.2m) in Dublin.

Farhats Bathijevs, with an address at Earlsfort Court in Lucan, was arrested on Friday.

Police also recovered €460,000 (£384,000) in cash, and cocaine and ecstasy with an estimated street value of €210,000 (£175,000) during a two-day search operation.

Gold bars and coins, weighing 18kg, were discovered during a search of business premises, while the drugs were found at a house.

Mr Bathijevs is facing a total of 10 charges - three relate to money laundering and three for theft and fraud relating to false documentation.

He is also charged with two counts of possession of ecstasy and cocaine, and two counts of possession of ecstasy and cocaine for sale or supply.

An application for baile was not made and the accused was remanded in custody to appear in court again via videolink on 4 October.

Two women, aged in their 30s and 50s, have also been arrested in connection with the seizures.

They were arrested under drug trafficking laws.