£12m drugs haul ‘tracked through GB and onward to Larne’

The lorry was stopped in Templepatrick on June 3.

Ulster Unionist Party MLA Alan Chambers said the haul - the biggest drugs seizure ever made by the NCA in Northern Ireland - was hidden in a lorry that had just arrived in Larne. Mr Chambers said: ““I would like to pay tribute to the tremendous work of the PSNI and the National Crime Agency (NCA) which has resulted in the seizure of an estimated £10-12 million of illegal drugs.

“The entire community will be delighted to see this huge quantity of drugs removed from circulation in the knowledge that drug dealers will not be able to create misery for hundreds of individuals and their families by selling it on and lining their own pockets.

“At least one organised crime gang has been dealt a major blow and sustained a significant financial hit and that is good news.

NCA and PSNI officers recovered an estimated 600 kilos of herbal cannabis from among a cover load of vegetables.

“The role of the NCA should be noted and applauded, because they have the organisational capacity to operate UK wide, and clearly their input into this operation has been crucial, tracking the lorry as it travelled through Great Britain and onward to Larne.

“This shows the kind of results that can be achieved with law enforcement agencies sharing information and intelligence and it bodes well for the future.”

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