Former 96FM presenter Pearse McCarthy gets eight years for drug-dealing

Gardaí had estimated that McCarthy had handled around 90 to 100 kilos of drugs with an approximate street value of up to €2 million

The judge said it was clear Pearse McCarthy (pictured) was "involved over a number of years” in the the sale and distribution of drugs. File picture: Denis Boyle

Former 96FM newsreader and radio presenter Pearse McCarthy was described on Friday as operating as a mid-ranking member of a drug distribution organisation in 2017 and was jailed for eight years for having €270,000 worth of drugs in Kinsale at that time.

Judge Helen Boyle said to the accused at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “Your level of culpability is relatively high – you were actively engaged in this, you had people reporting in to you and you reported to the bosses.” The 52-year-old who lived at Red Abbey Court, off Margaret Street in Cork, was given a nine-year sentence with the last year suspended.