Model prisoner jailed for 4 years for possession of €1.4m worth of heroin

An exemplary prisoner who worked on a programme to reduce prison violence has been jailed for four years for possession of €1.4 million worth of heroin writes Isabel Hayes.

Joseph O'Neill, who was caught with the drugs concealed in two fire extinguishers, had become the “public face” of Cloverhill Prison for his work on a programme to reduce violence amongst prisoners, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard during his sentence hearing.