Accused cannabis smuggler denied bail to live in Republic

A Co Wexford man accused of trying to smuggle £800,000 worth of cannabis into Northern Ireland will not be granted bail to live in the Republic, a High Court judge has stressed.

Chris Connaughton abandoned his current bid to be released after all possible addresses were ruled out. Mr Justice Weir said: "He's certainly not going to get bail from me to anywhere in the Republic of Ireland, or further afield."

Mr Connaughton (36) is among four men charged with plotting to ship the drugs consignment across the Border in pallets of orange juice. They were detained last month after the cannabis was discovered in a van in Camlough, south Armagh.

The raid on premises in the area formed part of a joint operation involving the the PSNI, National Crime Agency and Garda. A previous court was told the drugs were tracked through Spain, England and Ireland before officers swooped.

Mr Connaughton, with an address at St Patrick’s Place, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, is accused of conspiracy to import cannabis. Three men from Birmingham also face charges in connection with the alleged smuggling plot.

In court on Monday, counsel for Mr Connaughton stressed that he has no connection with any co-accused. Joel Lindsay said: "He's the man with the van asked to come up from Wexford and pick up a load."

The barrister added that Mr Connaughton has no family or address available to him in Northern Ireland. But prosecution counsel insisted police will not agree to him living anywhere else. On that basis Mr Justice Weir indicated the bail application was doomed to fail.

“There isn’t any prospect of my granting bail to a man allegedly involved in £800,000 worth of drugs who hasn’t got an address within the jurisdiction. “You are not going to arrive at first base.”

Following that warning the application was withdrawn.