Prisoner escapes from Co Cavan prison

John Mangan (53) was serving 10 year jail term for possession of cannabis

Gardaí are searching for a convicted drug dealer who escaped from an open prison in Co Cavan on Monday evening.

John Mangan (53) from Whitestown Green, Blanchardstown, Dublin, was sentenced in 2008 to a mandatory 10-year jail term for possession of cannabis resin valued at more than €341,000, and a suspended four years for having a loaded handgun in a pub toilet in 2007.

He received a 14-year sentence upon conviction in 2009 of possessing drugs valued at over €2 million in 2006.

The Irish Prison Service confirmed in a statement it had notified gardaí that a prisoner had absconded from Loughan House on October 4th.

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A Garda spokesman said Cavan gardaí are assisting the Irish Prison Service in tracing the whereabouts of a prisoner unlawfully at large since Monday evening.

Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan is High Court Reporter with The Irish Times