Police in Larne carried out a significant proactive policing operation targeting serious and organised crime in the district this morning, Friday 7th March, shortly after 9.30am.
Officers conducted planned searches at five properties in the Gardenmore Ward area as part of an ongoing investigation, following information received into serious and organised criminality involving the illegal supply of drugs in Larne.
Chief Inspector Tate said:
“This was a substantial planned policing operation organised by our District Support Team, working along with the Neighbourhood Policing Teams, and supported by specially trained officers, including Tactical Support Teams and Police Search Advisors.
“During the searches a quantity of suspected drugs were seized, and we believe these illegal drugs were unfortunately destined for the streets of Mid and East Antrim.
“Drug paraphernalia was also seized and taken away for further examination.
“Tackling the supply of drugs remains a priority for the Police Service of Northern Ireland as a whole, but it’s particularly of interest to our policing district across Mid and East Antrim. These searches and seizures demonstrate our commitment to disrupting criminals that profit from the proceeds of these crimes, targeting vulnerable young people in our communities who don’t fully understand the dangers of getting involved in, or taking drugs.
“Drugs supply and misuse is a vicious cycle and we remain determined to remove harmful drugs from our streets and to remove money and assets from those who work in the drugs trade. It’s crucial that any suspected illicit activity is flagged with us, so that action can be taken immediately, and I’m appealing to anyone with information on someone dealing drugs in your area, to contact us on 101.”
Alternatively, you can submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. The independent charity Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.