A couple convicted of cannabis charges are to be deported to Malaysia

The judge said that given his slightly lesser role as a courier, she sentenced him to 40 months in prison.

As Lim has also been in custody since January last year and has therefore already served his sentence, he will now be taken from Maghaberry Prison into custody before the pair are deported back to Malaysia.

At an earlier hearing, Zhe and Lim pleaded guilty to several offenses relating to possession, importation and conspiracy to import and supply Class B cannabis between May 31, 2022 and February 4 last year.

Zhe, who had a “mixed role as courier and manager”, pleaded guilty to 27 offences, while drug courier Lim pleaded guilty to 17 offences.

Two other men, Justin Soon, 36, of Portallo Street, Belfast, and Chue Yuan, 58, of a Wormwood Scrubs HMO address in London, also entered pleas to similar offenses but did not appear in court on Tuesday.

The judge told the court that Zhe was first arrested on January 24 last year when police stopped and searched him as he walked along Springfield Road.

His backpack contained a kilogram of marijuana, as well as two cell phones and two sets of keys.

When police used one of these kits to search Zhe’s bedroom, they seized another 2.9 kg of herbal marijuana.

The judge said the search also collected documents relating to lease agreements for a number of rental properties.