12-year jail term for man caught with €1.2m of drugs

A man has been handed a 12-year jail sentence after he was caught with €1.2m worth of drugs, following an investigation by the Organised Crime Unit.

Barry McArdle, of Davitt House, Galtymore Road, Drimnagh, was caught with €993,000 worth of heroin in the footwell of his van, after gardaí saw him collect a black plastic bag from another man.

A subsequent search of an apartment he was renting revealed cocaine valued at €152,000 and cannabis valued at €57,000.

The court was told that the 25-year-old was a courier and the people he was working for had supplied him with his van and paid the rent on his apartment.