A MAN has appeared before the courts charged in relation to alleged drug dealing from his prison cell.
Brian Rattigan (30), Cooley Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, is charged with possessing two mobile phones in his prison cell and is also charged in relation to a €1 million heroin seizure in Walkinstown, Dublin.
The phones were found on the E1 landing of Portlaoise Prison, on May 22nd, 2008, and the drugs were seized the previous day at a house in Walkinstown.
Rattigan was arrested at Cloverhill Prison yesterday morning and taken for a brief hearing at Cloverhill District Court before Judge Brian Sheridan.
He faces a total of five charges, two relating to the mobile phones and three relating to the seizure of heroin.
He is charged with possessing a Samsung and a Nokia mobile phone in Portlaoise Prison on May 22nd, 2008.
One of the drugs charges falls under Section 15(A) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, which deals with commercial quantities of drugs valued at €13,000 or more.
A third drugs charge relates to the possession of heroin at the same location in Walkinstown on the same date.
Judge Sheridan sent Rattigan forward for trial to the Circuit Criminal Court on all three charges. The accused was granted free legal aid.