Canadian woman (21) charged with importing cannabis worth €820,000 into Belfast

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

A 21-year-old woman has appeared in court charged with attempting to import drugs worth an estimated £700,000 (€820,000) into Belfast, according to police.

The UK National Crime Agency said Xaena Bursey-Duff from Calgary, Canada, was detained by officers on Saturday evening after UK Border Force staff at Belfast City Airport seized 36kg of cannabis from baggage that had arrived on a flight from London Heathrow.

Bursey-Duff was questioned after being transferred off a flight from Calgary in London and charged with importing controlled drugs and supplying controlled drugs, the NCA said.

At a hearing at Belfast Magistrates on Monday, she was remanded in custody until her next hearing at the same court on September 16th.

The NCA released an image of around a dozen evidence bags containing the seized cannabis.