£165,000 Suspected Criminal Cash Seized Near Banbridge

A 33-year-old man has been arrested after officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Roads Policing Unit seized approximately £165,000 in suspected criminal cash during a vehicle stop on the A1 near Banbridge yesterday, Wednesday 26 March.

The vehicle was stopped at around 1.30 pm, and a subsequent search led to the discovery of the significant sum of money. The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of criminal property and is currently in police custody.

Following the arrest, further searches were conducted at two properties in west Belfast. These searches resulted in the seizure of a quantity of suspected herbal cannabis, estimated to be worth £67,500, an additional £6,000 in cash, drug supply paraphernalia, and a round of ammunition.

As a result of these follow-up searches, the 33-year-old man was further arrested for possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply, possession of ammunition in suspicious circumstances and without a licence, possession of a Class B drug, handling stolen goods, and being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug. Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney of the PSNI's Organised Crime Unit welcomed the seizure: "I welcome today's seizure made by my colleagues in the Roads Policing Unit. We know from experience that removing cash and high value assets has a real impact on the organised criminal groups involved in exploiting our communities for their own profit. Such criminal groups are motivated only by financial gain and have no regard for the misery and suffering they inflict on the most vulnerable in our society. We remain determined to remove their ability to do so but we recognise we have much work to do."

Detective Inspector Sweeney also appealed to the public for assistance: "We are dependent on the assistance of the community for this work and, to this end, I would appeal for anyone with any information about this type of criminality to contact detectives on 101."

Information can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org/ .