Garda moved to elite unit after arrest

A detective sergeant was granted a transfer to an elite Dublin unit just days after being arrested and questioned in connection with a range of serious offences.

Det Sgt John White was arrested in connection with engineering a plot against associates of the McBrearty family by getting Bernard Conlon to make false statements alleging he was threatened by them. Alleged police harassment of the McBrearty family is a major focus of the Morris Tribunal.

Following his arrest, Det Sgt White was suspended but later re-instated and granted a transfer to the prestigious unit. But he failed to turn up for work in March 2000, citing severe stress, and has been off ever since.