A campaign has begun in Co Roscommon to free from a Greek prison a 23-year-old local lorry-driver jailed for more than three years for cigarette-smuggling. A lorry driven by Mr Eamon Donnellan from Culkeen, Cloonfad, was stopped at the Greek port of Patras in July.
A search of its cargo revealed 176,000 packs of contraband cigarettes in addition to his stated cargo of olive oil, destined for a supermarket chain in the Republic. Within three days Mr Donnellan had been jailed for 3½ years.
Mr Brendan Cregg, principal of Cloonfad national school, said local people were convinced of Mr Donnellan's innocence. More than 400 people attended a meeting in his home village on Monday night where a committee was formed to campaign for his release.
Mr Cregg, the committee's spokesman, said the action group would be seeking the intervention of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, in the case.
Senator Terry Leyden said Mr Donnellan had not checked his load. "The manifest was presented to him in a sealed envelope. As far as he was concerned it was olive oil, a legitimate cargo for his employers to bring to Ireland," Mr Leyden said. Mr Leyden, who visited Mr Donnellan in prison, claimed he did not get a fair trial.