Man claims €70k of heroin found in gear bag on Cork-Limerick road is not his
Gardaí with the assistance of a sniffer dog located the gear bag near a garda checkpoint. File photo
A 44-year-old Dubliner allegedly caught near a garda checkpoint carrying a gear bag containing €70,000 worth of heroin completely denied having anything to do with the drugs.
Gardaí with the assistance of a sniffer dog located the gear bag at the side of the road and found that it contained half a kilogram of heroin.
Thomas Lakes testified from Mountjoy Jail by video link to Cork District Court that he knew nothing about the gear bag.
He said he was walking along the road when he was stopped by gardaí and questioned about the drugs. He said they did not belong to him.
Detective Garda Long testified during the bail application by Lakes that the accused was travelling in a car that stopped behind another car at a Covid-19 checkpoint on the main Cork-Limerick road and that a number of people allegedly got out of the car.
The detective said he saw Thomas Lakes carrying the bag and that when the bag was subsequently found during a search there was documentation in the bag with the defendant’s name on it.
Cross-examined by Sergeant Gearóid Davis during his bail application about the bag, the defendant replied: “Nothing to do with me.”
Judge Olann Kelleher said the defendant had been remanded in custody since his arrest on these drugs charges dating back over two months and that he had waited until now to make his application for bail.
“It is a serious charge. He said he had an addiction at the time – not to this drug but to crack cocaine,” Judge Kelleher said.
Bail was refused and the accused man was remanded in custody until June 16 to allow time for directions to be obtained from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Detective Garda Long gave evidence at the time of arrest, charge and caution of how Thomas Lakes made no reply to either charge after caution.
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