Searches in Hillsborough and Lisburn during £2m drugs seizure

Suspected speed, cocaine and cannabis with a street value of 2m were seized in a multi-agency operation at the weekend. Police believe the drugs were destined for the local market.

Three searches were carried out in Kilkeel on Saturday while five were were carried out in Lisburn, Hillsborough, Glengormley and Lurgan in an operation that involved the PSNI, Manchester and Lancashire Police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

Nine people, five from Northern Ireland, were arrested in Northern Ireland and Northern England after a lorry was stopped in Kilkeel carrying what is believed to have been 6kg of cocaine, 22kg of speed and 20kg of herbal cannabis.

In follow up searches 6kg of speed were seized along with 100,000 cash in sterling and euro notes.

A house in Preston was searched and what is believed to be cocaine, speed and herbal cannabis was also seized.

Five men were arrested in Northern Ireland while three men and one woman were arrested in England. Three men were brought to NI for questioning.

The officer in charge of the operation, PSNI Detective Superintendent Essie Adair, said he was delighted with the amount of drugs seized which he said has 'removed harm from our streets.'

"We believe we have dismantled an organised crime gang which was importing drugs into Northern Ireland" he said. "We have been watching locations, vehicles and individuals. Within the past week, we started to get a clearer picture of the gang's activities and decided to move to an overt stage of the operation on Saturday."

DS Adair continued: "We believe the drugs were brought into the UK from Holland before being taken to Northern Ireland. We believe they have a high purity value which would enable them to be 'cut' several times before reaching the streets. Their ultimate value may be much higher than our current 2m estimate.

"We have worked with our partners in SOCA, Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Constabulary to bring this to a successful outcome. We believe an organised crime gang was importing drugs into Northern Ireland. We have taken drugs and cash out of circulation and as a consequence have removed serious harm from our streets."

Praising the agencies on the operation, the Mayor of Lisburn Councillor Allan Ewart said: "It is great news that over 54 kilos of drugs have been prevented from being sold within communities in Northern Ireland."