Nine people have been arrested by the RUC as the result of a major undercover operation aimed at tackling the growing heroin trade in Northern Ireland. Drug squad officers backed by mobile support units carried out two waves of co-ordinated raids on 16 addresses in Ballymena, Co Antrim, starting at 7 a.m. yesterday, which resulted in the arrest of eight men and a woman.
The suspects were taken to police stations in Ballymena, Larne and Antrim for questioning. A small quantity of heroin, £3,000 in cash and a jeweller's scales, used to weigh the drug, were seized in the operation.