Armagh man jailed for six years following record £10m cocaine seizure

October 24, 2026 The Belfast Desk 0 Comments

£10m Cocaine seizure: An Armagh man has been sentenced to six years in prison following what police have described as the largest cocaine seizure ever carried out by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Packages of cocaine recovered during the PSNI's record drug seizure in Jonesborough in December 2023 — ocaine recovered by police during an operation in Jonesborough in December 2023. Photograph: PSNI

Ciaran McBride, 41, appeared before Newry Crown Court on Friday 23 October 2026, having previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

The drugs, with an estimated potential street value exceeding £10 million, were discovered during a police operation in Jonesborough, south Armagh, in December 2023.

Cocaine discovered in concealed lorry compartment

Police said officers stopped a maroon-coloured van on 11 December 2023 as it pulled away from an articulated lorry parked in an industrial estate in Jonesborough.

Vehicle photographed by PSNI in connection with the December 2023 cocaine investigation in Jonesborough — A vehicle pictured in connection with the police investigation into the record cocaine seizure in Jonesborough. Photograph: PSNI.

McBride was driving the van.

The lorry, which had Dutch registration plates, was subsequently searched by officers.

Inside a purpose-built compartment at the rear of the vehicle, police discovered packages of cocaine concealed beneath crates containing frozen meat products.

£10m cocaine seizure - showing Packages of cocaine recovered by PSNI officers during the December 2023 Jonesborough investigation — Packages of cocaine recovered during the record drug seizure in south Armagh. Photograph: PSNI.

Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney, from the PSNI’s Organised Crime Branch, said the concealment method demonstrated the sophistication of the operation.

Crates containing frozen meat products associated with the concealed cocaine shipment discovered in Jonesborough — Frozen meat products were used to conceal packages of cocaine inside a purpose-built compartment in a lorry. Photograph: PSNI.

The cocaine was estimated to have a potential street value of more than £10 million, making it the largest seizure of the drug in PSNI history.

£10m cocaine seizure leads to six-year sentence

McBride appeared before Newry Crown Court on Friday, where he was sentenced to six years after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

PSNI custody photograph of Ciaran McBride, sentenced to six years for cocaine supply offences — Ciaran McBride, 41, from Armagh, was sentenced to six years at Newry Crown Court following the PSNI’s largest cocaine seizure. Photograph: PSNI.

The sentence comprises three years in custody and three years on licence.

Police said the conviction followed an investigation into the transportation and intended distribution of the drugs.

Police highlight scale of organised crime operation

Detective Inspector Sweeney said the quantity of cocaine and the method used to conceal it indicated a significant organised criminal operation.

Cocaine packages seized during the PSNI investigation into a major drug consignment in Jonesborough — Further evidence photographed by the PSNI following the seizure of cocaine valued at more than £10 million. Photograph: PSNI.

He said police believed the drugs had come from the Netherlands and were intended for distribution across Northern Ireland.

The detective described the seizure as a major disruption to the supply of illegal drugs and highlighted the harm that drug trafficking causes to individuals, families and communities.

He said the PSNI would continue working with partner agencies to investigate organised criminal activity and disrupt drug supply networks.