Two men and a woman went on trial in Belfast yesterday accused of smuggling £300,000 worth of cannabis into Northern Ireland from Spain in December 1994.
Prosecuting lawyer, Mr John Creaney QC said the three were part of a sophisticated plot to smuggle 32kgs of drugs for distribution that Christmas.
On trial is a 26 year old north Belfast man, a 28 year old woman and a 34 year old Dunmurry man, who all deny charges of smuggling the drugs and possessing them with intent to supply.
The court heard that police and customs officers uncovered the drugs in a specially adapted petrol tank of an Audi car which was parked at the rear of a house in the Cook Street area.
The Dunmurry man, arrested leaving the house as police and customs arrived, claimed he had been visiting his niece but also allegedly admitted "You have only got me on conspiracy and you will never prove that".
The trial continues today.