Cannabis seized in Co Down yesterday, weighing three and a half tons and worth £18 million (€26.6m), is the largest drugs haul ever made in the North according to the PSNI.
Two men, both in their thirties, were arrested. Drugs Squad Chief Det Supt Hayden Bell said: "This is a significant seizure, and came about as a result of an intelligence-led operation mounted by HM Revenue and Customs and the PSNI Drugs Squad."
The drugs were found in the back of a lorry packed with wooden doors in a warehouse on the Quarry Heights Industrial Estate at Newtownards, County Down.
Supt Bell said: "The seizure is proof of the PSNI's determination to make the community of Northern Ireland safe." He said there was nothing to suggest any paramilitary involvement, although the possibility has not been ruled out.
He said a substantial amount of the cannabis would have been sold in the North as well as the Republic and Britain.
He said: "We know there has been a considerable drought of cannabis , so 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."
He refused to be drawn on suggestions that the drug drought had been caused by reports of the Ulster Defence Association and other loyalist paramilitary groups getting out of the drugs business.
PA