A couple escaped through a skylight as police seized up to £75,000 worth of cannabis in a raid on a south Belfast restaurant where they lived and worked, a court heard today.
The drugs were discovered hidden inside a suitcase at the business premises on the Stranmillis Road last week.
Details emerged as Chinese nationals Wang Hu (47) and his 45-year-old wife Jianyun Xue were refused bail in connection with the seizure.
The pair both face charges of possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply.
Belfast Magistrates Court heard police found five kilos of herbal cannabis during searches at a Chinese restaurant on May 28.
The haul was secreted in an area which could only be accessed by residents or staff, according to an investigating detective.
“While uniformed colleagues conducted the search the defendants made off from the property through a skylight in the bedroom they resided in,” she said.
“It’s our understanding they were both living and working at the property.”
Hu and Xue were located and arrested in the Stranmillis area a short time later.
They told detectives they were aware of the suitcase but knew nothing about the drugs inside it.
The seized cannabis had a potential street value of anywhere between £20,000 and £75,000, according to police estimates.
Opposing the two accused’s applications for bail, the detective claimed they are no longer legally entitled to be in the UK and had hid their passports in a bid to avoid removal.
Defence barrister Michael Halleron argued that the couple thought the raid on the restaurant premises was Home Office officials intent on deporting them.
Bail was refused, however, due to the risks of re-offending or absconding.
Remanding Hu and Xue in custody, District Judge Amanda Henderson said: “My main concern is that they would flee the country.”