A defence counsel for Mr Paul Ward, the man accused of murdering the journalist Veronica Guerin, claimed at the Special Criminal Court yesterday ) that gardai had brought his girlfriend to see him in custody to allow for "the planting of verbals".
Mr Patrick MacEntee SC said: "It's well known throughout the world - and I have no doubt this country is no exception - that gardai plant verbals."
He told the three judges they must be very alert to evaluate the Garda evidence relating to alleged admissions by Mr Paul Ward during his custody at Lucan Garda station in October 1996.
He was continuing submissions on the 13th day of the trial of Mr Paul `Hippo" Ward (34), of Crumlin, Dublin, with an address at Walkinstown Road, Dublin, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Guerin at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Co Dublin, on June 26th, 1996.
The prosecution has claimed Mr Ward was a member of the gang that planned and carried out the killing and that he disposed of the murder weapon and a motorcycle after the killers called to his house.
Mr MacEntee said it was a "hypothesis" that two men named in court as the assassins had carried out the murder. The State was relying on telephone calls between the mobile phone of one of these men and Mr Ward's mobile phone on the day of the murder. i. "This was one of the biggest police investigations that had ever taken place in this country," he said. "It was quite clear that any person suspected of being implicated in the murder of Veronica Guerin when arrested would be arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and would be interrogated."
Mr MacEntee said gardai had powers under the 1994 Criminal Justice Act to videotape interrogations, and video equipment was installed at Tallaght Garda station, which was "not a million miles" from Lucan Garda station, where Mr Ward was detained.
He said that if Mr Ward's interrogation had been videotaped issues which had occupied the court for several weeks would not have arisen.
Mr MacEntee said several documents in the case had gone missing, and this was "a very disquieting aspect of the evidence". These included notes of interviews made by gardai with Mr Ward, a Garda notebook and a sketch made by a State witness, Charles Bowden, of the bullets he had loaded the gun with.
He said two witnesses had also disappeared, one a hairdresser who worked with Bowden and the other a friend of Bowden who was now in Australia. Their absence was a major disadvantage to the defence.
Referring to the interviews in Lucan, Mr MacEntee said: "When the chips are down the gardai are willing to trim the truth quite substantially."
He said that when Mr Ward's girlfriend, Ms Vanessa Meehan, was brought to visit him at Lucan Garda station it could have been to provide a pretext for breaking Mr Ward down.
Defence submissions continue on Monday.