Two men appeared at Belfast Magistrates Court today charged with a series of drugs offences.
Warren Arthur Martin (36) from Ballygonney Road, Moneymore, Co Derry, and Aidan McPartland, (29), from Deramore Gardens, Belfast, appeared in connection with t he seizure of £1 million worth of cannabis in the city last Thursday.
Police claimed in court that the two men are members of a highly organised criminal gang.
Both men denied the offences and claimed they were "mules," but District Judge George Conner refused bail and remanded them in custody to appear again before the courts in three weeks.
Police seized the major cannabis haul after stopping two vehicles in the Duncrue area of Belfast on Thursday, though lawyers representing the men today questioned the £1 million street value placed on the find.
The court heard that McPartland believed the parcels seized by detectives contained cigarettes, but an officer from the PSNI's organised crime branch said of the defendants: "We would feel that they are members of a highly organised criminal gang."
PA