DRUGS worth an estimated £6.5m have been seized in Northern Ireland following a cross-border operation involving the PSNI and Garda officers.
Suspected cannabis, cocaine and ketamine were discovered concealed within food packaging following the search of property in the Mallusk area of Newtownabbey, Co Antrim yesterday.
Some of the drugs found in the joint agency operationA 28-year-old man was arrested at the scene, on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A and Class B controlled drugs, the PSNI have confirmed.
“We believe the drugs on this seizure were intended to supply various markets across the UK,” the PSNI’s Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney said in a statement.
“The Joint Agency Task Force was established with the aim of bringing a concerted and enhanced effort to tackle cross-jurisdictional organised crime,” he explained.
“All partners within the Task Force are totally committed to working together to reduce the misery caused by drug smuggling and to dismantle the organised groups profiting from this type of criminality.
“It is not difficult to imagine the harm that would have been caused by this volume of drugs being dealt on street corners within our communities to vulnerable people, children and those with addictions issues.
“Nor is it difficult to imagine the mayhem that the organised criminals behind this would have wreaked with the millions of pounds of profit they potentially stood to make.”
While Det Insp Sweeney admitted he was “delighted the drugs have been removed from circulation” he acknowledged that there was more still to be done to target organised crime.
“We recognise there is still much work to be done to tackle such serious and organised criminality. We rely on the help of the community to do so and would appeal to anyone with information or concerns to contact us on 101,” he said.