A sawn-off shotgun was found at the feet of a passenger in a car being driven from Blarney towards Cork City, it was claimed yesterday as gardaí objected to bail being granted to the defendant in any circumstances.

Customs officers caught a Polish man with €42,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco for sale in Cork and yesterday he was sentenced to a suspended two-year jail term and 240 hours of community service.

Two men facing charges arising out of the investigation of a high-speed chase in Cork on April 18, in which a motorcycle garda was seriously injured, were back in Cork District Court yesterday.