POLICE in Enniskillen seized drugs with a total street value of £16,000 in Bellanaleck following an operation last Friday afternoon.

Three kilos of cannabis resin worth £15,000 and 80 ecstasy tablets worth £1,000 were seized in the operation, described as “a very substantial” haul by Chief Inspector John Maxwell.

Putting the find into context, Chief Inspector Maxwell said that the drug seizure was “certainly the biggest haul in the county in a number of years. The find is more than the last two years put together.”

The three kilos of cannabis resin packed in 12 ‘nine bars’, were found along with the 80 ecstasy tablets set under a hedge at the back of a disused nursing home near the lake.

Police believe that the haul discovered in Bellanaleck was destined for a dealer. They say the majority of drugs in Fermanagh are brought in from elsewhere, and that their main objective is to cut off the supply to local dealers.

In a separate incident earlier this month, police discovered cannabis plants growing in a derelict house outside Irvinestown, while searching the premises in relation to another matter.

After extending their operation in the light of this find, they also uncovered another group of cannabis plants growing in a makeshift polythene tent in a forest area about 100 yards from the house.