A MAN from Co. Antrim has been charged with drugs offences after £325,000 worth of cannabis was seized at Belfast Port.
William James Mervyn Stewart, 42, of Dunrod Road, Crumlin, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers after he was stopped at the port on Friday morning.
Border Force officers found 18kg of cannabis hidden in a compartment in the back of a van, which had disembarked a ferry from Cairnryan in Scotland.
Stewart was interviewed by NCA officers and later charged with possession with intent to supply class B drugs.
He appeared at Laganside Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning and was remanded in custody until his next hearing on November 5.
"The NCA and Border Force are committed to preventing drugs from reaching the streets of Northern Ireland, where they would be sold and the money used to fund further criminality and fuel exploitation," said NCA Belfast Branch Commander David Cunningham.
"Our message to anyone thinking of getting involved in drugs smuggling is to think very carefully about the consequences — you will be arrested and face jail time."
