Schoolchildren get lesson in danger of drugs

A secondary school class received a first-hand lesson on the dangers of drugs yesterday as they watched two men jailed for transporting €1.5m worth of heroin.

During the sentencing hearing Judge Mary Ellen Ring asked the prosecuting counsel to explain to the class from Tallaght Community School how the men’s drug habit led to them being forced to transport the drugs and that they were now facing up to life imprisonment.

After hearing the evidence Judge Ring imposed a seven-year sentence on each man but suspended five years on condition they visit a school or youth group at least once a year for five years to give a talk on the dangers of drug abuse.