Largest drugs haul in N.Ireland.

[Sky Walker]

A cannabis seizure made in County Down had an estimated street value of £18m - making it the largest drugs haul in Northern Ireland, police have said.

The drugs were understood to have been in a single shipment which was brought to a warehouse in Newtownards.

They were seized in an intelligence-led operation involving police and the Revenue and Customs Service on Tuesday.

A paramilitary link to the smuggling operation is not suspected by police at this stage.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the seizure.

The police said the find was part of a commitment by the Organised Crime Task Force to crack down on illegal drugs.

Drugs Squad Chief Detective Superintendent Hayden Bell said: "We know there has been a considerable drought of cannabis.

"Had an amount like this hit the streets there would have been considerable demand for it, and it would have reached Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland and possibly back into the UK mainland."

Security minister Paul Goggins, who chairs the Organised Crime Task Force, said the seizure "clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of our multi-agency approach".

"Cannabis is a dangerous drug and has the capacity to cause real harm," he added.

"Working together, these agencies have been able to remove illegal drugs from our communities and take the profit out of organised crime."


Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6040314.stm

[Paracelsus]

Originally Posted by Paul Goggins

"Cannabis is a dangerous drug and has the capacity to cause real harm."

Very funny. Everyone who believes this was indoctrinated by the media, using cannabis-related "studies".

In my opinion, seizures like this demonstrate how efficiently law enforcement works in a police state, using unconstitutional surveillance.

.

Reputation Comments on this post:

To true

[Paracelsus]

2 men in court, denied bail over biggest drugs bust in Northern Ireland history
The Associated Press
Published: October 12, 2006


DOWNPATRICK, Northern Ireland Two men were denied bail Thursday in connection with the biggest drugs bust in Northern Ireland history.

The presiding judge at Downpatrick Magistrates Court, Mervyn Bates, said he could not risk freeing the two defendants — Stephen McGiven, 31, and Martin Kerfoot, 39 — because of the massive scale of the drug smuggling involved.

Police arrested both men Monday during a raid on a storage depot in Newtownards, a Protestant suburb of Belfast, where they found 3.5 tons of marijuana with an estimated street value of 18 million pounds (€27 million, US$33.5 million) — more than triple the size of previous record busts.

Detective Sgt. Ann Crawford testified Thursday that both men were on site as some of the cannabis was being transferred from pallets, where the drugs had been hidden in a shipment containing doors, into a truck.

A lawyer for McGivern argued that his client was just a truck driver who didn't know the marijuana was hidden inside the shipment. A lawyer for Kerfoot said his client was co-owner of a thriving European-wide shipping company who had been coerced by others into facilitating the shipment of drugs; he said denying Kerfoot bail would force the company to shut down, because the co-owner was currently in Austria.

But Bates refused bail and ordered both men — who appeared in court handcuffed to prison guards — to remain in jail until their next court appearance Oct. 27.

Police say most of the drugs trade in Northern Ireland is controlled by three outlawed Protestant paramilitary groups: the Ulster Defense Association, Ulster Volunteer Force and Loyalist Volunteer Force. But police have not made public any paramilitary link in this case.

[Forthesevenlakes]

If they legalized cannabis, in Ireland as everywhere else, "outlawed" groups wouldn't stand to profit from it. But until then, these types of groups will always supply the demand of the public. Someone will always step in to fill the void created by the latest drug bust.

[Beeker]

Same thing they said in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's ... All you need is a YES man to keep the propaganda going. I've learn to just ignore it or poke fun at it.

Your votes can't even change this. The USA's War on Drugs can never "fail" so you have to wait for the US to fail completely before change happens.

[Sky Walker]

Originally Posted by Beeker

Your votes can't even change this. The USA's War on Drugs can never "fail" so you have to wait for the US to fail completely before change happens.

I think you're right, America will never admitt it failed it's war on drugs (which it did, long ago) and I highly doubt it will ever let up it's current war on drug users, there's just to much money in it. What options are left then?

Well, can anyone say Invasion!

Seriously, when is that dirty bitch going to be invaded and who's going to do it? Is it even likely to happen, soon?


Back On track;

I REALLY hope that seized shipment was just soapbar, I'd be glad if it was.

[Nature Boy]

If it was soapbar seized, I actually couldn't give two shites, but marijuana? That's just depressing, especially considering that Ireland's dope drought hasn't hidden its ugly head quite yet. Anyway Lukey, the Roman Empire existed for a thousand years. The US Empire could be around a lot longer.