A man accused of picking up a van containing almost €700,000 worth of cannabis claimed he thought it held runners rather than drugs Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

A Kerry teenager whose aggravated sexual assaults of two women within weeks included a threat to kill the second victim has today been jailed for 11 years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.

A man who was being pursued by 20 Garda patrol cars and a Garda helicopter in a "high-speed car chase", because he was driving a stolen Mercedes for a promised eighth of heroin, has been jailed for two years.