Armagh man Ciaran McBride jailed for six years over £10m cocaine haul
Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney of the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch said police stopped a van after it pulled away from an articulated lorry parked in an industrial estate in the Jonesborough area of south Armagh, uncovering a substantial quantity of cocaine concealed inside a purpose-built compartment.
A 41-year-old Armagh man has been sentenced for drug-related offences linked to what the Police Service of Northern Ireland described as its largest ever cocaine seizure.
Ciaran McBride appeared before Newry Crown Court on October 23, having previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply. He was sentenced to six years in prison, with half of the sentence to be served in custody and the remainder on licence.
The case relates to the seizure of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than £10 million from a lorry in Jonesborough on December 11, 2023.
Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney of the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch said police stopped a van after it pulled away from an articulated lorry parked in an industrial estate in the Jonesborough area of south Armagh.
A subsequent search of the Dutch-registered lorry uncovered a substantial quantity of cocaine concealed inside a purpose-built compartment. The drugs were hidden beneath frozen meat products packed in crates at the rear of the vehicle.
Detective Inspector Sweeney said the sophistication of the concealment method and the quantity of drugs recovered demonstrated the scale of the organised criminality involved.
He added that police believed the cocaine had arrived from the Netherlands and was intended for distribution across Northern Ireland.
"It’s my belief that the drugs, coming from the Netherlands, were destined for distribution and sale across communities here in Northern Ireland," he said.
Welcoming the court outcome, Detective Inspector Sweeney said McBride had now been held accountable and reiterated the PSNI's commitment to disrupting organised crime groups and tackling the supply of illegal drugs.
He also thanked members of the public for their continued support and encouraged anyone with information or concerns relating to criminal activity to contact police.