A couple from Merseyside were questioned tonight by detectives after a major drugs seizure in Northern Ireland.
Detectives believe they have closed down a main smuggling route from England. Cannabis resin worth £250,000 on the streets was found when officers searcheda car near Larne harbour in Co Antrim.
The vehicle had been under surveillance as it crossed on the ferry from Fleetwood, Lancashire. Two people, believed to be a husband and wife in their 50s from Liverpool, were arrested when drugs squad officers swooped last night.
Security sources said the intercepted drugs were destined for Derry, but ruled out any paramilitary involvement. "This particular route has been broken up," one said.
"A Derry-based group has been utilising it to bring stuff in from the UK. "But we have taken the dealer's drugs, a big source of his income, and interrupted his couriers."
The seizure was the latest success in the Police Service of Northern Ireland's war on the illegal narcotics trade.