11 charged after drug raids
Eleven people were charged with drug offences today after a police operation aimed at smashing an alleged heroin network.
The 10 men and one woman are due to appear at Larne Magistrates’ Court in Co Antrim later, said police.
Two other men and a woman detained during the same anti-drugs operation yesterday remain in custody.
More than 120 officers were involved in early morning swoops on at least 17 locations. Quantities of Class A and C drugs, along with cash, were seized.
The move against alleged street dealers, codenamed Operation Sturge, was the biggest anti-drugs offensive in the province for years and had been planned since January.
It centred around Ballymena, Co Antrim, where at least 10 houses were searched.
The town is ravaged by drugs and has up to 600 heroin addicts living there.
Properties in Sion Mills, Co Tyrone, and Kilrea, Co Derry, were also targeted.
