Man in court after £1m ecstasy find

A 40-year-old man is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court today in connection with the seizure of more than £1m (€1.4m) of ecstasy tablets at the weekend.

Police in Ballyclare, Co Antrim, intercepted a consignment of around 120,000 ecstasy tablets in a lorry at an industrial estate in Avondale Drive on Friday night.

Drugs Squad officers believe the consignment originated in Holland and was destined for a criminal gang in mid-Ulster with loyalist paramilitary links.

The drugs were emblazoned with the logos of popular food and drink companies like Coca Cola, Guinness and M&Ms.

The seizure was welcomed yesterday by the Ulster Unionist MP David Burnside who has called for phone-tapping to be used in the fight against drugs.

The man is charged with possession of, and possession with intent to supply, a class A drug.