Three in custody after Belfast cannabis haul

Three men, aged 26, 32 and 56, remain in custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Shaun McKee said the successful operation has taken a large quantity of potentially dangerous drugs off the streets of the North.

“The sad reality is that illegal drugs kill. They ruin lives. They destroy communities,” he said. “We are working to disrupt the activities of the gangs involved in their sale and supply, limit the amount of misery they are able to inflict on communities and ultimately put them behind bars.

“This work is as ever ongoing and, as this latest operation demonstrates, is yielding results.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Roy McComb, head of the organised crime branch, said police are determined to ensure gangs will be stopped.

“This is a significant seizure of drugs that would have been circulated in Northern Ireland and indicates that organised criminals are intent on bringing misery, in the form of illegal drugs into our communities,” he said.

SDLP South Belfast MP, Dr Alasdair McDonnell, said he was glad the drugs were off the streets.

“All too often the local drug godfathers are making a fortune off the misery of our young people and I’m glad this will hurt them where they feel it, in their pockets and in their freedom,” he said.

“I know only too well as an elected representative, a doctor and also as a parent the worries we face through the sale of drugs and the consequences they can have on our young people.”