Cannabis worth an estimated £6m seized in Belfast

A lorry driver from Portadown has been arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) following the seizure of over 300 kilos of cannabis at the port in Belfast.

The 45-year-old man was detained after his lorry, which contained a consignment of soft drinks, was stopped and searched by Border Force officers on its arrival into the port on Friday, the NCA said.

NCA officers estimate the drugs would be worth £6 million at Northern Ireland street level.

NCA branch commander David Cunningham described a “massive haul of cannabis which would have ended up on the streets of Northern Ireland”.

“Losing this amount of drugs will be a huge blow to the organised crime group behind this importation,” he said.

“We will continue to work with our partners to stop illegal drugs ending up in our communities.”

Border Force acting assistant director Darren Brabon added: “This seizure underlines Border Force’s commitment to reduce harm to communities, and we will continue to work with our partner agencies, including the NCA, to combat such criminality.”