Man arrested after drugs bust
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
CANNABIS plants estimated to be worth £32,000 along with cultivation equipment have been seized during a search operation of a house in Newtownabbey.
The house, in Hillview Park, off the Ballyclare Road, was raided on Thursday and the material removed after a planned operation.
A spokesperson for the PSNI told the Gazette that the 29 year old man appeared in Laganside court on Friday charged concerned in the production of class c drugs, Possession of class C drugs and the posession of class c drugs with intent to supply. Speaking about the successful police operation, Alderman Nigel Hamilton, DUP representative for the Antrim Line area has welcomed the discovery, he said: "Only a matter of weeks ago I was calling on the police to increase their activity in the area, I know that there are more drugs circulating in the community than the police are willing to acknowledge and than residents in the area are aware of.
“I would congratulate the police on this action and welcome further resources being put into dealing with the dealers and suppliers. These people are a scourge in our community and require a sufficiently appropriate sentence to meet the crime. I doubt sadly if this will be the case.
Alderman Hamilton added: "Too many young people are at the mercy of these unscrupulous individuals and I trust that this man, who has most probably been producing and supplying drugs for a number of years should have his assets frozen and a suitable charge set against his earnings to establish how much he should be made to pay in unpaid tax and any other state benefits or income obtained.
