A WOMAN from Dublin has been charged with drugs offences after almost £1m worth of cannabis was seized at Belfast City Airport this week.
Stella Doyle-Daly, 18, from Hanover Street in the Irish capital, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers after she was stopped at the airport on Tuesday.
After she travelled from Thailand via Doha and Heathrow Airport, a search of two suitcases by Border Force officers found almost 48kg of cannabis with a street value of £956,000.
Couriers expendable
"The NCA continues in our work to prevent drugs from reaching the streets of Northern Ireland," said Belfast Branch Commander David Cunningham.
"We will pursue the organised crime groups behind importations and the couriers paid to transport the drugs across the border.
"The gangs behind these smuggling attempts are only interested in making money. Their couriers, who are likely to be arrested and prosecuted, are expendable.
"We would appeal to those thinking of getting involved drug smuggling on behalf of these gangs to think about the consequences of their actions — you will be identified and prosecuted."
Warning
Doyle-Daly was interviewed by NCA officers on Wednesday and charged with drugs importation offences.
She appeared at Laganside Magistrates' Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody until a bail hearing on Tuesday.
Last Sunday, a 24-year-old woman from Northern Ireland was detained after Border Force officers found 45kg of cannabis in baggage.
Siobhan McTavey, who arrived into London on a flight from Bangkok via Doha, was one of 11 people charged with trying to smuggle cannabis through two London airports last weekend.
She appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday and was remanded into custody before her next appearance at Isleworth Crown Court on October 24.
In August, the NCA issued a warning to travellers arriving into Britain from Thailand, Canada and the USA that they face jail sentences if caught attempting to smuggle cannabis.
However, arrests are still being made and the amount of cannabis seized in Britain so far in 2024 is three times more than the whole of 2023.
