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A VAN DRIVER who claimed he was delivering a hot tub to a house in Mullingar was arrested when British police found £220,000 (€257,471) worth of cannabis hidden inside a specialist compartment.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) and UK Border Force were involved in the arrest of Lithuanian national Paulius Andrulis (37) at Belfast Port on 15 June 2025.

NCA officers arrested Andrulis after he arrived on a ferry sailing from Cairnryan port in Scotland.

In a statement today the NCA said that Border Force officers questioned Andrulis about his movements and he told them he was delivering a hot tub to an address in Mullingar in the Republic of Ireland.

“When officers searched the vehicle, a purpose-built hide was discovered in the roof containing 27.5 kilos of herbal cannabis, a class B drug. The hide ran the length of the roof of the van, with access through the top of the van’s rear doors.

“Andrulis was arrested the following day on suspicion of possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply. In interview, he claimed he was asked to drop the van at the address, and it would then be returned to him hours later with the hot tub removed.

“He denied any knowledge of drugs and said he had been asked to make the delivery by a man he knew as ‘Sprite’,” the statement said.

Andrulis appeared at Laganside Crown Court on 29 June where he pleaded guilty to the offence. Today he was sentenced to two years and two months in prison for the scheme.

NCA Branch Commander David Cunningham said that Andrulis had created a specialist hiding location inside the roof of his van.

“He denied any knowledge of these drugs, but our investigation showed he had likely been involved in a number of previous smuggling runs and his account at interview lacked credibility.

“We are grateful to our partners at Border Force who discovered these drugs. The NCA will continue to do all we can to stop drugs being smuggled into Northern Ireland and across the border,” he said.

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