Dundalk court: Man fined for driving with cocaine in his system

A motorist who failed a roadside drugs test after he was caught speeding on the M1, was fined €300 and banned from driving for a year at Dundalk district court last week for driving with cocaine in his system.

Andrew Moorehouse (28) of The Court, Hazelhatch Park, Celbridge Co. Kildare was convicted in his absence after he failed to attend for the hearing of the case which had been due to be contested.

The court heard a member of the Roads Policing Unit was carrying out a speed enforcement checkpoint at Drumleck, southbound around 6.50pm on the date in question.

A car allegedly driven by the defendant - a blue BMW - was detected travelling at 156kph in a 120kph zone.

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He was pursued and stopped at Braganstown and the garda told how she got a smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle.

The garda asked the driver to step out of the vehicle to complete a road-side breath test after a 10 minute observation period.

The result came back positive for cocaine and he was subsequently arrested and taken to Dundalk Garda Station where he gave a sample to a doctor.

While no alcohol was found in his system a second test showed cocaine was present in his blood.

The Defence barrister told the court he had been expecting Mr. Moorehouse to appear and had no instructions.

Judge Eirinn McKiernan imposed a €300 fine for the drug driving offence and a 12 month disqualification while a two year driving ban was imposed for driving without insurance.