Arrests after £500k cannabis plants seized

A property in Tandragee was searched as part of the police operation

Police have arrested five men after cannabis with a street value of half a million pounds was seized in searches across Northern Ireland.

Detectives, supported by officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's (PSNI) Tactical Support Group, carried out the searches at properties in Templepatrick, Coleraine, Tandragee, Lurgan and Newry on Wednesday.

The five men, aged 33, 34, 38, 41 and 43 were arrested in relation to a number of offences including cultivation of cannabis and remain in police custody.

A senior officer said the searches were part of a co-ordinated day of action targeting organised criminal gangs.

A property in Templepatrick was also searched

"We have located and dismantled four cannabis cultivations within properties in Templepatrick, Coleraine, Tandragee and Lurgan," Det Insp Kelly said.

"The drugs recovered have a potential street value of approximately £500,000. A fifth property in Newry was searched and the occupant located and arrested by roads policing officers in Portadown this morning."

Cannabis plants were also seized during a search in Coleraine , County Londonderry

Det Insp Kelly added: "Clearly there was a conveyor belt supply of drugs being produced, with regular harvests across the properties, which would likely be sold on to other criminal gangs.

"Organised crime gangs fund their criminality and lifestyle at the expense of others. Damage is caused to properties. Vulnerable people caught up in drug misuse suffer and it creates a pressure on families and the health service."

Police also seized by four vehicles during the searches on Wednesday.