Driver stopped at Limerick checkpoint thought cocaine was ‘out of his system’
A MOTORIST who had taken cocaine a few days before he was stopped at a garda checkpoint in County Limerick was convicted of drug driving and fined €400 when he appeared before Newcastle West court.
Freddie O’Donoghue, who has an address at Fairhill, Rathkeale was also disqualified from driving for 12 months as a result of his conviction.
During a brief hearing, Judge Carol Anne Coolican was told the defendant was stopped at a checkpoint at Castlematrix, Rathkeale on December 5, 2020.
After he was stopped, Mr O’Donoghue provided a sample for analysis and this, the court heard, tested later positive for cocaine.
Pleading for his client and seeking leniency, solicitor Michael O’Donnell said he had taken the substance a few days before he was stopped. The solicitor said he thought it was “out of his system" and that was okay to drive.