Largest NI cocaine haul taken to Carrick labs

An estimated 50 kilos of suspected cocaine, worth approximately £2.5million, were found at commercial premises in County Tyrone yesterday (Wednesday).

Following the receipt of information District police officers examined a recently delivered container of furniture and identified two suitcases packed with bags of white powder.

These tested positive as cocaine during initial examination.

Detective Superintendent Noel Mullan, from Organised Crime Branch, said: “This was a fortuitous find and I want to commend District colleagues and everyone involved for their diligence when the suitcases were discovered.

“The white powder has been field tested at the scene and it registered as cocaine. It has now been taken to Forensic Science laboratories under armed guard at Seapark [in Carrick] for detailed examination. There is no suggestion that the company based at the premises knew what was in the container.

“It is undoubtedly one of the biggest cocaine finds ever made in Northern Ireland. To put this in context, over a three year period from 2011/12 to 2013/14 PSNI seized a total of 49 kilos of cocaine in 1,053 seizure incidents. This is an average of 47g per seizure incident. There were only two seizures of 3 kilos or more. Half of all seizures were of just 1g or less. Last night we got 50 kilos.

“We will be working with law enforcement colleagues in various parts of the world to establish where this came from, where it was going to and who was involved. It is unlikely that such a substantial amount was destined for the Northern Ireland market but we’ll see where our enquiries lead.”

No arrests were made during the seizure.