Detectives from the PSNI’s Organised Crime Branch who carried out a number of searches across Northern Ireland on Wednesday (August 13) have charged five men to court.

The five males aged 33, 34, 38, 41 and 43 have been charged with a number of offences and are due to appear before Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday ( August 14).

Police say is usual procedure all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

In an statement on Wednesday, the PSNI said five people had been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences after a co-ordinated day of action against cannabis cultivation during which drugs worth an estimated £0.5million were recovered. Four vehicles were also seized.