POLICE in Northern Ireland have seized cannabis worth an estimated £1.7million from a lorry in Tyrone.
Detectives from the PSNI’s Organised Crime Branch made the discovery following a search of the lorry in Cookstown on October 8.
Detective Chief Inspector Gail McCormick confirmed: “The suspected cannabis was seized following the search of a lorry in the Cookstown area.
“It has now been taken away for further forensic examination.”
A 41-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs and possession of class B drugs with intent to supply, the PSNI have confirmed.
The cannabis seized in Cookstown, Co. TyroneSDLP MLA Patsy McGlone has welcomed the seizure, stating: “Those peddling illegal products seek to prey on and exploit the most vulnerable within our society and I am glad that this haul has now been taking out of circulation and those behind this will not be able to profit from their criminality.”
He added: “Drugs cause untold harm in our society, they destroy families, extinguish potential and ruin lives.
“We are in the midst of a mental health crisis in the North and illicit drugs are a huge contributory factor to that.
“Addiction is a huge issue in every community and we have a long way to go to tackle the root causes of that.”
Det Chf Insp McCormick has appealed to the public to come forward with any information about illegal drug use.
“As a result of [this] search a large quantity of suspected dangerous controlled drugs are now safely off our streets,” she said.
“Drugs have no place in our community, and I am making a direct appeal to anyone with information about the illicit supply, possession or misuse of drugs to contact police on the non-emergency number 101, or submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.”
