Police and Border Force officers at Belfast Port find £1m-worth of drugs stashed inside a delivery of beds

The consignment was vacuum-packed and stashed within the frames of some beds being brought into Belfast Port by lorry.

The vehicle was stopped yesterday morning in an operation by detectives from the PSNI Organised Crime Unit, alongside harbour police (who are a separate force from the PSNI) and officers from the Border Force.

A 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a class B controlled drug and possession of a class B controlled drug with intent to supply.

He was taken to Musgrave Police Station in the city centre for questioning.

The PSNI said: “This search, seizure and arrest was conducted as part of our ongoing commitment to address the criminality linked to drug importation, supply and use that often results in drug debts, drug addiction and drug related deaths within our communities.

“Through multi-agency efforts we will continue to carry out operations, to break the cycle of those who seek to cause harm through the illegal importation and supply of drugs in Northern Ireland, and to dismantle the organised criminal gangs who profit from this incredibly harmful activity.

“This type of large scale importation is conducted by sophisticated organised crime gangs and these gangs are utterly ruthless in their exploitation of the most vulnerable in our society and they cause this misery for no other reason than personal profit.

“We cannot tackle this scourge without the help of the public. I appeal to anyone with information about illegal drug use or supply, to call police on the non-emergency number 101.”

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