Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Man jailed for £500k drug haul
MDMA package intercepted in post
A MAN has been jailed after trying to smuggle half a million pounds of ecstasy into the country.
Lukas Urbutis, 25, was arrested during a raid at a property in Camlough, Co Down, in September 2017.
It followed the seizure by Border Force officers of a package containing almost 10kg of crystalised MDMA at a courier depot near Belfast.
The drugs had been sent in the post from the Netherlands to Newry.
Urbutis, with an address in Dundalk, Co Louth, was charged with the importation and supply of a class A controlled drug.
He pleaded guilty to both offences at Newry Crown Court and was given a five-year sentence, half to be served in prison, the remainder on licence.
He also faces deportation from the UK at the end of his jail term.
NCA branch commander Billy Beattie said: “Working with our partners at Border Force and the PSNI we have undoubtedly prevented criminal gangs making substantial profit, which would have been reinvested in further illegal activity.
“My officers are determined to pursue and disrupt the criminal networks who import and supply drugs but also foster violence and exploitation in our communities.” John Oldham of the Border Force added: “Officers work tirelessly to prevent smuggling of illegal drugs and were it not for their intervention, these would have ended up on Northern Ireland’s streets. “This vital work to intercept harmful class A substances includes securing postal routes into the UK, where our vigilance is essential.
“We will continue to work closely with the NCA to keep our country safe.”