Northern Ireland

Video: Drugs and alcohol seized in Portrush

DRUGs and alcohol have been seized  in Portrush and on buses carrying young people to nightclubs in the area, police have said.

In a video posted on Facebook the North Coast PSNI said officers had worked with the management of Kelly's nightclub during the weekend operation.

Sergeant Michael O'Loan later confirmed that with the help of two drugs dogs a quantity of cannabis and suspected cocaine and ecstasy with an estimated street value of £500 was seized following searches in Portrush.

A 23-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of possession of a class A drug was released on police bail, pending further enquiries, he added.

"Under public service vehicle (PSV) legislation, buses are not permitted to carry passengers who are drinking alcohol. By checking a number of buses heading to locations in the north coast area it allowed us to seize drugs and several hundred pounds' worth of alcohol drinks."

The officer said police did not want to criminalise young people but drug use is illegal. 

"We have a number of ways of dealing with offenders, not all of which lead to criminal convictions. We appreciate that if a young person comes before the law and is convicted of taking drugs they will have a criminal record which could affect their future career prospects and perhaps their opportunities to travel.



"On Saturday, one person was fined for disorderly behaviour and five CRNs (Community Resolution Notices) were issued to individuals who were found to have small amounts of drugs in their possession, for personal use. CRNs are only issued to those who have no previous history in the criminal justice system."

The Facebook video has been shared more than 500 times with people taking a shine to the police officer wielding the microphone. In a follow up PSNI video posted the next day the officer is compared to television presenter Ron Burgundy from the Anchorman films. He's kind of a big deal.

Video from PSNI North Coast on Facebook