Man in court after suitcase of drugs found in car

Ivan Chan appeared before Londonderry Magistrates' Court on Friday

A man has been refused bail in connection with the seizure of a suitcase of drugs with an estimated street value of up to £60,000 in Londonderry.

Londonderry Magistrates' Court was told that Ivan Chan, 38, from Creswick Avenue, Rayleigh, in Essex, England, was arrested after his car was stopped by police on the Culmore Road in Derry on Wednesday.

Police searched the vehicle and discovered the suitcase containing four kilograms of cannabis in eight packets, with estimated value of between £40,000 and £60,000.

Mr Chan was interviewed twice by police and in both cases answered "no comment" to almost all questions, the court was told.

Two mobile phones found inside vehicle

Police also found two mobile phones in the vehicle, one of which had a number taped to the back of it.

Mr Chan claimed that he did not know the pass codes to either phone.

Police said the investigation was still in very early stages and that they had yet to determine where the drugs originated from.

An officer said it was unclear if the drugs had come directly from England to Northern Ireland or from England via the Republic of Ireland before being moved across the border,

A defence solicitor said that Mr Chan lives in England, but had put forward a possible bail address in Ballymena.

District Judge Barney McElhom refused bail, telling Mr Chan that if he did not provide the information to access the phones, he had no choice but to refuse bail.

"To expect me to believe he doesn't know the details is just nonsense," the judge told the court.

Mr Chan will appear in court again next month.