Three charged over cocaine find

Police described find as a "drugs factory"

Three men have been charged in connection with a cocaine seizure in County Tyrone worth £500,000.

Police discovered at least six kilos of the drug in the garage of a house in Moy on Tuesday.

The men, who have been charged with having cocaine and intending to supply it, are due to appear in court in Dungannon on Thursday.

The drugs were seized after a cross border police operation into organised crime.

Meanwhile, a separate haul of £350,000 of cocaine was also uncovered by Irish police at a house at Timoleague, west Cork.

They were acting on information from the PSNI.

Gardai from the National Drugs Unit made the Cork seizure, which was made up of about 7kgs of cocaine and a quantity of cannabis. No arrests were made.

'Drugs factory'

In Northern Ireland, forensic scientists are examining what has been described as a "drugs factory".

Both drugs seizures and the subsequent arrests were part of "a major PSNI crime operations department investigation", a PSNI spokesperson said.

Det Supt Hayden Bell said PSNI had "dealt a significant blow"

Head of the drugs squad, Detective Superintendent Hayden Bell, said the PSNI had "dealt a significant blow" to the drugs trade in Northern Ireland.

He said the drugs were imported from the Republic of Ireland to be mixed and cut at the so-called factory facility.

He said the operation was the result of a year of police work. It is believed the drugs would have been distributed throughout Northern Ireland.

"This is a significant success - because it is taking the drug out further up the supply chain," he said.

"We haven't taken out street-level dealers here, we haven't taken out street-level supply. We have taken the drug as it has come into the province and it would have moved on again and again before it hit the streets.

"The investigation has been a protracted intelligence-led investigation. It has gone on for several months."

He added: "At this stage we are going to try to secure evidence and secure convictions of people we would believe are further up the food chain in drugs supply."

Cocaine use is becoming increasingly common in Northern Ireland, with police seizures of the drug more than tripling last year.