Man 'only sent back cheese' not drugs from Amsterdam trips

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A CO Antrim man accused of importing consignments of cannabis during multiple trips to Amsterdam claims he only sent back cheese, a court has been told.

John Semple allegedly posted £60,000 worth of the drugs to Northern Ireland as part of a monthly travel itinerary spanning two years.

He was arrested at Belfast International Airport last week following a joint operation involving the PSNI and Dutch police.

Semple (37) of Ballycregagh Road in Clough, near Ballymena, is charged with two counts each of fraudulently importing Class B drugs and being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

He is further accused of converting criminal property.

Bail was refused at the High Court on Monday due to concerns he could potentially flee or re-offend.

Semple is allegedly linked to 2kg of herbal cannabis seized from another man's home in Ballymena in March last year.

Prosecution counsel Conor Maguire said the drugs, valued at £40,000, were sent in packages from the Netherlands two weeks earlier.

Inquiries with Easyjet confirmed Semple was in Amsterdam on a two-day trip at the same time, he added.

The court was told the accused's fingerprint was found on a sealed envelope inside the packages.

Further checks with the airline revealed he had been travelling from Belfast to Amsterdam twice a month for one-night stays since 2014.

"He had similar flight bookings up to October 2016," Mr Maguire said.

Last month Dutch police observed him at a rail station posting a package to an address in Ballyclare, according to the prosecution.

Intercepted by the PSNI at a Royal Mail sorting office, it contained another kilo of vacuum packed herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of £20,000.

Semple was stopped and detained at Belfast International Airport on February 2 as he was about to board a flight to Amsterdam.

Mr Maguire continued: "During interview he gave an account that he travelled to Amsterdam to post cheese to his friends."

Despite the offer of a £5,000 cash surety from the accused's father, His Honour Judge Piers Grant refused bail.

"The suggestion that he's importing cheese for his friends is probably best not to comment on."