The 24-year-old woman and 35-year-old man are due to appear at Newtownards Magistrates’ Court on Saturday accused of money laundering.

Police arrested the pair in Milton Keynes on Thursday morning. They also seized two high-value vehicles.

The man and woman are the latest to be charged as part of an ongoing investigation into the supply of cannabis from Italy to Northern Ireland.

In March, £800,000 worth of drugs were seized in the region during the PSNI-led operation, working with colleagues from the Italian Carabinieri and the National Crime Agency.

At the time, searches were carried out in Belfast, Greenisland, Bangor, Newtownards and Ballywalter – and in the Prato and Bologna areas of Italy.

Legalizing marijuana Several proposals are in the works to legalize marijuana in Ohio. Check here for an update on the status of those efforts.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- ResponsibleOhio's plan to legalize marijuana through a limited number of commercial growers is being criticized by two staunch supporters of marijuana legalization -- the Green Party of Ohio and Libertarian Party of Ohio.

A proposal to put a medical marijuana clinic in Norwood Park is heading to the city council this week but the local alderman is balking.

Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) told a DNAinfo reporter that his community has not had enough time to consider the proposal, which would place a Union Group of Illinois dispensary in a vacant storefront at 6428-30 N. Milwaukee Ave. He said there had only been one community meeting held regarding the proposal, and that most of the residents who attended that meeting opposed the plan.

Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday said he plans to sign legislation that would change the state's medical marijuana laws and soften penalties for marijuana offenders.

There are three bills moving through the state legislature affecting Louisiana's marijuana laws. Two of them (SB 241) and (HB 149), which are nearly identical, would reduce the tough sentences judges are allowed to hand down for repeat marijuana offenses; reduce a second marijuana offense from felony to misdemeanor; and allow first-time convictions for simple possession to be erased after two years.

The bills also set up a simple possession charge for smaller amounts of marijuana and more serious charges that can be brought for larger amounts of marijuana that drug dealers and distributors typically possess.

Cannabis Social Clubs are the solution, not the problem.

HASSELT, BELGIUM – On Thursday May 28th, the appeal in the case against Mambo Social Club will be held in the court of Antwerp. Mambo is the second Cannabis Social Club in Belgium and was sentenced by the Court of First Instance last year, for cultivation and possession of cannabis. President and founder of Mambo Social Club, Michel Degens, expects a positive outcome: “Cannabis Social Clubs offer a safe alternative to adult consumers who don’t want to buy cannabis on the black market. It’s a non-profit model of cannabis production and distribution that promotes health, safety and responsibility. Cannabis Social Clubs are the solution, not the problem.”

Banned: Substances will now be guilty until proven innocent

Even by the standards of modern legislation, the psychoactive substances bill is startlingly inane. It seems to ban any substance which can cause a mental or emotional reaction. As must be obvious, that's almost everything in the world. Did this taste remind you of your mother's cooking? It's a psychoactive substance. Did it bring you a moment of happiness? It's a psychoactive substance. The government is about to ban almost everything.

This is not, to be fair, the legislation. This is just the advert. But the description of the bill in the Queen's Speech is troubling enough.

The federal government wants to be clear with its federal employees that might live in states that have reformed their marijuana laws: Marijuana remains illegal, so don't use it.

In a groundbreaking move for a group of its kind, a leading organization opposed to marijuana legalization released a report Thursday that seeks a major overhaul of marijuana research in the United States, calling on the federal government to recognize the medical value of cannabis.

Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), co-founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, called his group's research recommendations a "third way," positioning them between the concepts of legalization -- which the group continues to oppose -- and full prohibition, on a call Thursday.

A Lisburn councillor believes cannabis should be legalised and his call seems to have gained support from many people in the city.

Following the legalisation of marijuana in the United States, NI21 Councillor Johnny McCarthy said now is the time for Northern Ireland to reconsider its current drug laws.

In recent months, a number of defendants have appeared in Lisburn Magistrates Court to face charges of possession of drugs. Some claimed they are using the cannabis for medical reasons, to ease pain and relief symptoms of chronic illnesses and they have been strongly supported by comments on the Star’s Facebook page.