Three men have been arrested following the largest drug seizure made by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) in Northern Ireland.
An estimated 600 kilos of herbal cannabis was recovered from a load of vegetables after a lorry was stopped in Templepatrick, Co Antrim in the early hours of yesterday.
The drugs are estimated to have a street value of between £10-£12 million.
The seizure was made as part of an ongoing investigation into drug supply by the NCA in a joint operation with colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Three men were arrested, including the lorry driver, on suspicion of conspiring to import controlled drugs.
The men, aged 62, 37 and 32, are from counties Tyrone, Derry and Armagh.
Two premises were also searched in counties Derry and Tyrone.
NCA Belfast branch commander David Cunningham described the seizure as "incredibly significant".
"A seizure of this size will have a huge impact on the organised crime groups involved in its importation, depriving them of commodity and, most importantly, profit," he said.
"We are determined to do all we can with our law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle drug supply routes, not only here in Northern Ireland but across the UK.
"The crime groups involved bring violence and exploitation to our streets and into our communities.
"Our investigation into this seizure continues, and I'd like to thank our colleagues at PSNI for their support."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Foster, from PSNI's Organised Crime Unit, added: "This ongoing NCA-led investigation resulted in a joint operation between police and NCA over the last few days which has uncovered between £10-£12 million of herbal cannabis.
"Police Service NI officers discovered this significant find of drugs after stopping and searching the lorry when it entered Northern Ireland.
"This seizure of drugs is significant both in terms of the quantity and also the disruption this will have caused to the organised crime group who would have brought these drugs into our communities to make money for their own selfish gain.
"This successful operation demonstrates the significant benefits of joint working with law enforcement partners and we will continue to work closely with the NCA to disrupt the nefarious activities of organised crime groups operating in Northern Ireland."
