Police seize suspected firearms, swords and drugs in Portadown

Drugs, money, firearms and swords were seized

Police in County Armagh have seized nine suspected and replica firearms, three rounds of ammunition, six swords and £6,000, as well as Class A and B controlled drugs.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers searched six houses in the Garvaghy Road in Portadown on Monday as part of an ongoing investigation into organised crime.

One man in his 20s has been arrested.

The firearms will now be subject to forensic examination.

Six swords were seized

It is part of a wider investigation into serious and organised crime in the greater Craigavon area relating to drug importation and supply and firearms.

Including Monday's operation, officers have carried out 27 searches and made eight arrests since the investigation began in October 2022.

In those searches the PSNI also seized two knuckle dusters, two machetes, herbal cannabis and more than half a kilogram of Class A cocaine.

A vehicle has been confiscated as well as more than £15,000 of suspected proceeds of crime.

'Lavish lifestyles'

Det Ch Insp Richard Thornton of PSNI Organised Crime Team appealed to anyone in the community who has information to come forward.

Ammunition was also found during the searches

"The risk of serious harm to our communities is clear," he said.

"Illegal firearms are smuggled in for one purpose - to cause injury and death."

The officer added that criminals "line their own pockets and live lavish lifestyles at the expense of others".

The firearms will now be subject to forensic examination

Det Ch Insp Thornton said young people being groomed into criminal gangs from a young age was "always a concern".

"The potential lifestyles they think they might get for running drugs appeals to them - that is not the case - they are being used but they can be sucked into a trap by the heads of the groups," he explained.

Det Ch Insp Richard Thornton of the PSNI's Organised Crime Team said 27 searches had been carried out since the investigation began

The senior officer explained the investigation was a "robust and wide reaching" one stretching beyond Northern Ireland's borders - to the rest of the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Europe.

He said the PSNI had a close working relationship with An Garda Síochána and were in contact with them often on a daily basis.