'Thoroughly unusual facts' allow Corkman in €50k cocaine case to avoid jail

A detective said Arthur Ward "was out of his depth" and was not the subject of the Garda surveillance operation

Gardaí found three quarters of a kilo of cocaine with a street value of €52,000 after a search of his van in Ballincollig.

More than €50,000 worth of cocaine was seized from a van at a property in Ballincollig and yesterday a 50-year-old man was given a fully suspended five-year sentence.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said he could depart from the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for such a crime in light of what he described as the singular and unusual facts of this case involving Arthur Ward of An Caisleán Close, Ballincollig, County Cork.