Ex-garda jailed for string of offences

A former garda has been jailed for three years for a string of offences including dealing cocaine, attempting to frame someone for car theft, and insurance fraud.

Stephen Cooper, aged 29, who was a member of the force when the offences took place, also allowed a friend take the blame when gardaí found LSD during a search at the Electric Picnic music festival.

Cooper, of The Green, Kingswood Heights, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at the festival between September 5, 2009, and September 2, 2010, by knowingly allowing Luke Barnett to be wrongfully prosecuted on September 2, 2010.