Parents living in a middle- class suburban estate in Dublin expressed shock and concern at the sensational discovery of a suspected crystal meth lab in their midst.

Children played on well-kept green areas outside large detached homes at Monastery Heath Green in Clondalkin yesterday as neighbours said they were totally surprised by a large-scale garda raid on one of the houses.

"We saw a lot of gardai wearing coloured boiler suits and thought somebody had been found dead in the house. It was a complete shock to find out it was a suspected crystal meth lab," said a concerned father living in the quiet estate.

The raid - on what gardai said was a large crystal meth lab operation in a four-bedroomed home - involved a large team of officers wearing protective clothing and gas masks.

Expand Close Gardai raid the house / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Gardai raid the house

On Friday, a man and woman appeared in court charged with possession of the drug, which, when processed, would be valued between €2.3m and €2.7m.

Joan Fennelly (34), with an address in the estate, and Jan Richter (30), a Czech national of no fixed abode, were both charged.

Hovered

The raid took place last Wednesday as a garda helicopter hovered over the house.

Gardai seized what is suspected to be methamphetamine, along with 60 litres of a chemical product used in the process of making crystal meth.

When Mrs Fennelly, a native of the Philippines, was charged on Thursday, she said "I take them. I don't sell them." She was released on bail.

Expand Close Gardai raid the house / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Gardai raid the house

Mr Richter made no reply when charged and was remanded in custody. They are both due to appear in Cloverhill District Court on November 4. Both were granted legal aid.

Yesterday, parents living on the estate said they found it hard to believe that a Breaking Bad-style meth lab was located in their neighbourhood.

"All the neighbours are shocked. People are very close here and this has come as a complete surprise," said a 36-year-old father-of-two.

"Crystal meth is a killing machine. It would cause a lot of trouble on the streets.

Bombs

"People were really worried when they saw all those gardai in different coloured chemical suits. I was at work when I got a call from a neighbour. The garda raid went on all day and the gardai remained overnight outside the house.

"I thought maybe they had found a bomb factory but then realised there were no soldiers so I knew it wasn't bombs they found," he said.

A 44-year-old mother said: "It's such a quiet estate and to think it was so close to us all. I really thought someone was dead when I saw all the police. I was relieved no one was dead. It's the kind of thing you only see on television. People are in total shock."

Her 44-year-old husband said: "Everyone knows each other on this estate. People are close. Children could have been put in danger."

Online Editors