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Five people have been arrested as part of an investigation into an NI crime group suspected of attempting to import cocaine worth £1m.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation was supported by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

On Thursday three men were detained in the Essex area and two more in North Wales.

At the same time three lorries were seized.

Four of those arrested are known to be based in Northern Ireland, the other man is from the north of England. They are all aged between 21 and 59.

They are suspected of being involved in the importation of class A drugs from the continent.

The five men were questioned by NCA officers, and have now been released on bail.

Specialist Border Force officers were called in to conduct detailed searches of the HGVs.

In one, a complex concealment was located, which once opened was found to contain about 21 kilos of cocaine.

At the same time officers from the NCA and PSNI time carried out searches at a number of properties in Northern Ireland.

The investigation has also been supported throughout by An Garda Síochána (Irish police) and the Organised Crime Task Force.

NCA Regional Head of Investigations Gerry McLean said the seizures "prevented a large quantity of drugs from reaching our streets, and denied criminals an important avenue for smuggling."

"This is a highly significant operation in terms of our activity to target organised crime impacting on Northern Ireland," he added.

He thanked colleagues from the PSNI, Garda and Border Force.

Det Supt Rachel Shields, from the PSNI, said detectives had been working in collaboration with the NCA in relation to this operation for some time.

"These arrests and seizure are significant in terms of the quantity seized, and in terms of the disruption caused to organised criminals," she said.

"We will continue to work closely with, and support the NCA in their work to disrupt the nefarious activities of organised crime groups," she added