At a special sitting of the court on Saturday night, Judge Michael Reilly granted a 72-hour extension to an order under the 1996 Drug Trafficking Act in respect of five persons arrested outside Limerick city on Thursday night. The arrests followed a surveillance operation in the city which resulted in the seizure of £100,000 worth of cannabis resin.
The five people arrested included three Limerick men, who were alleged to be part of a drugs distribution network, and a Belgian man and a Spanish woman, who live in Spain. One of the Limerick men, in his 30s, was described by Chief Supt Liam Quinn as the principal person in the drugs network. Chief Supt Quinn said they were satisfied the woman had a connection with drug trafficking between this country and Spain.
Insp Gerry Mahon told the court that when the Belgian citizen was arrested he had £27,000 in his possession. He said the two non-Irish nationals were arrested at a premises on the Ennis Road, Limerick, near where the other three persons were intercepted. Insp Mahon asked the judge to restrict reporting of some aspects of the case in the interest of the investigations.
The judge said: "I would not dream of tying the hands of the press." He said that this matter was being heard in open court and he had already made it clear that the media were welcome in the court.
Judge Reilly asked if aspects of the case were reported what difference would it make. Insp Mahon said it would seriously damage the investigations. The judge then asked the press not to report certain aspects of the evidence given by the chief superintendant.