Two men arrested over €150k drugs seizure in Co Kerry
On Wednesday, searches at commercial premises in Tralee, Listowel, Killarney and Killorgin were carried out.
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During the operation, psychoactive substances, cannabis edibles/vapes and cannabis to the value of €150,000 have been seized.
The seized drugs will be sent for analysis to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).
Two men in their 50s were arrested and held in Garda stations in Kerry.
They have since been released and both have been released without charge.
Files will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Coroner rejects calls to refer details to gardaí after Offaly farmer (75) dies day after wedding
A coroner has rejected calls to refer the circumstances of the death of an Offaly farmer (75) on the day after he got married to gardaí for a detailed forensic investigation. The dramatic application was made at the conclusion of a three-day inquest into the death of Joe Grogan (75) who died at his home in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly on April 15th, 2023 just 24 hours after he got married to to his part-time carer, Lisa Flaherty, in a registry office unknown to any of his relatives who were unaware the couple were even in a relationship. Advertisement Mr Grogan was a well-known figure in Irish farming circles for hosting the National Ploughing Championships between 2016 and 2018, while the farm will also stage this year's event in September. The inquest at Offaly Coroner's Court in Tullamore heard that Ms Flaherty – a special needs assistant and mother of three who was 26 years junior to her husband– stands to inherit the 220-acre farm which is valued at €5.5 million as his widow. It had previously heard that the cause of the farmer's death could not be determined because it was embalmed before a postmortem could be carried out which restricted the tests that could be conducted by a pathologist. The farmer had been diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a form of blood cancer) in January 2023 and had responded well to treatment, although Ms Flaherty gave evidence that he believed he was dying. Advertisement On Tuesday, counsel for three cousins of the deceased – Alo, Margaret and Seán Grogan – Damien Tansey SC, called on the coroner, Raymond Mahon, not to return a verdict and to refer the matter to the DPP for a forensic examination of Mr Grogan's death by gardaí. Mr Tansey said it would be most unfair to the farmer's memory and to his family if the request was declined. Separately, Peter Jones, a solicitor for an aunt of the deceased, Teresa Mooney, also asked the coroner to refer the death to gardaí and to return an open verdict. Mr Jones claimed the inquest had left 'an awful lot of unanswered questions' and the circumstances of Mr Grogan's death could only be challenged by trained personnel used to investigating 'suspicious deaths.' Advertisement However, Mr Mahon returned a narrative verdict based on extensive evidence and claimed the farmer's death was probably due to an infection on the balance of probabilities. He noted the deceased was a person with a Stage IV high grade cancer who was receiving chemotherapy treatment with a compromised immune system who had also suffered 'significant weight loss". Mr Grogan's weight went from 79kg in June 2022 to 67.6kg at the time he was diagnosed with cancer and to 51kg at the time of his death. The coroner said evidence from witnesses of Mr Grogan's 'slow, elongated decline' lent support to his view that Mr Grogan's death was caused by an infection. Advertisement Widow of Joe Grogan, Lisa Flaherty, pictured leaving the Tullamore Coroner's Court. Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin He rejected the suggestion of Mr Tansey that a verdict of unlawful killing could be considered as the evidence was not 'anywhere near the level of proof' required to support such a finding. Referring to a claim by Mr Jones that the farmer had been 'left to die,' Mr Mahon said there was valid criticism about the way Mr Grogan's care was managed following his last session of chemotherapy. However, Mr Mahon, who retired as coroner following the case, noted that the deceased had repeatedly told people he did not want to go to hospital and a relative had stated that it was obvious he was dying. In a submission, Mr Tansey said there was disquiet in the area where Mr Grogan lived over the circumstances of his death which had been significantly added to by the evidence heard at the inquest. Advertisement He claimed that the coroner also appeared 'sufficiently troubled' to repossess the body after it had been embalmed to allow an examination to be carried out to try and establish the cause of death. Mr Tansey said the pathologist Charles D'Adhemar, was working in impossible circumstances due to the 'irreparable damage' caused by the embalming process. However, he noted that Dr D'Adhemar had been able to detect the presence of three drugs in the body of the deceased which if used in a combination of large quantities could cause respiratory depression. Mr Tansey accused Ms Flaherty of telling 'porkies' by putting out a false narrative that the farmer was at the end stage of life and requiring palliative care. He observed that Ms Flaherty had not tried to explain that she was in an 'on-off relationship' with Mr Grogan when she gave evidence that their relationship had been over 16 years but later having to admit that she had another partner up to 2020. Mr Tansey said another troubling issue was the secrecy surrounding the couple's marriage about which even Ms Flaherty's sister and best friend were unaware. He also observed she had not called any doctor to see Mr Grogan for the 10 days he had been at home before his death after being discharged from hospital after chemotherapy. The barrister claimed Ms Flaherty had also called an undertaker with 'indecent haste' and had tried to 'ensnare' a doctor in her scheme for getting the body released. There was a gasped reaction among the large crowd attending the inquest when Mr Tansey reminded the coroner that a verdict of unlawful killing was open to him. He pointed out that Mr Grogan was clearly ill in the days before his death and there was going to be 'a dreadful end' if there was no appropriate medical intervention. However, he said the only time the farmer was taken from his house during that period was to go to a registry office 'to hurriedly and secretly arrange a marriage". In his submission, Mr Jones said the most solid evidence at the inquest came from doctors who had never given a direction that Mr Grogan required palliative care as suggested by Ms Flaherty. 'Reign of secrecy' He noted an oncologist had stated the farmer's death was not inevitable and Mr Jones said it would be a travesty to suggest otherwise. The solicitor remarked that a 'reign of secrecy' had prevailed over Mr Grogan's final days, while adding that his death was not due to cancer, heart failure or any infection. However, he claimed the inquest, despite the coroner's best efforts, had not come any nearer to establishing the cause of death. Mr Jones also noted the 'cruelty' of members of the Grogan family being excluded and only being told of the farmer's death by a friend. He argued the only people who could 'get to the bottom of this' would be An Garda Síochána and a further investigation would 'satisfy public disquiet". The solicitor said Mr Grogan wanted to live and had 'everything to live for". However, counsel for Mr Flaherty, Stephen Byrne BL, claimed the inquest had been used to attack Ms Flaherty's good name and reputation. Mr Byrne said one submission had just stopped short of accusing her of causing Mr Grogan's death. He claimed the fact that gardaí had not taken any further steps to date 'must carry some weight". Sean Grogan, right and Padraig Grogan cousins of the late Joe Grogan speaking to the media pictured leaving theTullamore Coroner's Court. Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin Mr Byrne reminded the coroner that one of Mr Grogan's own relatives, Enta Conroy, had given evidence that he was fading and approaching the end of his life. He pointed out that no member of the Grogan family had contacted any doctor if they were so concerned about his health. The barrister said he struggled to find the relevance of the marriage to the inquest, while the coroner had directed that its validity was not open for discussion. He also sharply criticised the approach adopted by the Grogan family to the inquest and how they thought it fit and appropriate that Ms Flaherty should have been asked if her marriage had ever been consummated. The previous two days of evidence of the inquest had also been dominated by bad-tempered exchanges between the legal representatives after the validity of the marriage was questioned, despite a marriage certificate being produced at the hearing. There were further heated exchanges on Tuesday after Mr Tansey claimed previous evidence of Ms Flaherty which stated her relationship with the deceased started when she was 16 'puts it in the realm of being a paedophile". Ms Flaherty was heard to call the barrister a 'scumbag' in response. Offering his commiserations to all parties at the conclusion of the inquest, the coroner said it had been 'a very difficult case for everyone". Speaking afterwards, Seán Grogan said his family had just wanted to find that 'our cousin was treated properly in his dying days' after concerns were first raised when his funeral arrangements had been 'chopped and changed". Mr Tansey said the Grogans had been surprised and concerned to find out that no medical personnel had been contacted by Ms Flaherty in the 10 days before his death when it was clear he was suffering some infection from his last session of chemotherapy. The barrister said the focus 'from here on in will be the merit and circumstances of that marriage".
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Disgraced cricket star Stuart MacGill opens up about his struggles after being convicted of dealing cocaine - and why he's jobless and worried for his kids
Former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill has opened up about how his life has changed since his legal troubles began, revealing that he cannot find work and is worried about the impact of the scandal on his children. In May, the 54-year-old former leg-spinner was found guilty of taking part in supplying drugs for a deal between his regular dealer and his brother-in-law in April 2021. Jurors found him not guilty of taking part in a large commercial drug supply but found him guilty of the lesser charge of supplying an indictable quantity of cocaine. In his first interview since the high-profile court case, MacGill admits he has been unable to find full-time work and that he has become reclusive and 'doesn't open the curtains too much' these days. 'I am very lucky because depression has never been a big thing for me,' he told the Howie Games podcast. 'I get anxious. I won't lie about that. I get very anxious. The former Test cricket star, who played 44 matches and claimed 208 wickets, says he leads a quieter life than he used to 'People talk about the half-full half-empty situation - well, I've always said I'm neither of them, I'm completely empty. 'And the reason I say that is because if today is the worst day of your life, tomorrow is going to be slightly fuller. ' MacGill, who played 44 Tests for Australia and took 208 scalps, says he is drawing on techniques from his playing days to get his life back on track. 'If you hit rock bottom there is sunshine ahead,' MacGill said. 'If anything particularly bothers me, I just don't think about it. I learned that through playing Test cricket. 'If you have a bad day, don't buy a paper. If you have a good day, buy every paper in the stand.' The cricket great said he worries about the stress his recent legal troubles have placed on his children. 'My kids have had to put up with it,' he said. The Test great (pictured with Joe Root) said it's easy for him to shut the media off, but it's harder for his kids 'I can just turn the media off but... it is very difficult for kids to turn social media off. 'I don't care what people are saying about me, but I do care what was happening to the kids and I know it has been very difficult for them.' MacGill also confessed he's been impacted mentally by his inability to find full-time employment, although he has got some work as a cricket coach. 'I'm doing my coaching but other than that I'm not really working much which is a pain because I have a pretty active mind and trying to shut that off is hard work,' he said. 'Lots of TV. But I don't mind my own company, which is a good thing.' 'I get lonely sometimes, but I think that's happened to a lot of people since Covid... 'My network used to be a big part of who I was. 'I knew a lot of people and I have closed that right down since I have needed to manage my own environment a little bit more carefully.'
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- The Guardian
Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe'
Thomas, a 35-year-old tech worker and father of three from Ireland, came to West Virginia to visit his girlfriend last fall. It was one of many trips he had taken to the US, and he was authorized to travel under a visa waiver program that allows tourists to stay in the country for 90 days. He had planned to return to Ireland in December, but was briefly unable to fly due to a health issue, his medical records show. He was only three days overdue to leave the US when an encounter with police landed him in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody. From there, what should have been a minor incident became a nightmarish ordeal: he was detained by Ice in three different facilities, ultimately spending roughly 100 days behind bars with little understanding of why he was being held – or when he'd get out. 'Nobody is safe from the system if they get pulled into it,' said Thomas, in a recent interview from his home in Ireland, a few months after his release. Thomas asked to be identified by a nickname out of fear of facing further consequences with US immigration authorities. Despite immediately agreeing to deportation when he was first arrested, Thomas remained in Ice detention after Donald Trump took office and dramatically ramped up immigration arrests. Amid increased overcrowding in detention, Thomas was forced to spend part of his time in custody in a federal prison for criminal defendants, even though he was being held on an immigration violation. Thomas was sent back to Ireland in March and was told he was banned from entering the US for 10 years. Thomas's ordeal follows a rise in reports of tourists and visitors with valid visas being detained by Ice, including from Australia, Germany, Canada and the UK. In April, an Irish woman who is a US green card holder was also detained by Ice for 17 days due to a nearly two-decade-old criminal record. The arrests appear to be part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration, which has pushed to deport students with alleged ties to pro-Palestinian protests; sent detainees to Guantánamo Bay and an El Salvador prison without presenting evidence of criminality; deported people to South Sudan, a war-torn country where the deportees had no ties; and escalated large-scale, militarized raids across the US. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Thomas detailed his ordeal and the brutal conditions he witnessed in detention that advocates say have long plagued undocumented people and become worse under Trump. Thomas, an engineer at a tech firm, had never had any problems visiting the US under the visa waiver program. He had initially planned to return home in October, but badly tore his calf, suffered severe swelling and was having trouble walking, he said. A doctor ordered him not to travel for eight to 12 weeks due to the risk of blood clots, which, he said, meant he had to stay slightly past 8 December, when his authorization expired. He obtained paperwork from his physician and contacted the Irish and US embassies and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to seek an extension, but it was short notice and he did not hear back, he said. 'I did everything I could with the online tools available to notify the authorities that this was happening,' he said, explaining that by the time his deadline to leave the US had approached, he was nearly healed and planning to soon return. 'I thought they would understand because I had the correct paperwork. It was just a couple of days for medical reasons.' He might have avoided immigration consequences, if it weren't for an ill-timed law enforcement encounter. Thomas and his girlfriend, Malone, were visiting her family in Savannah, Georgia, when Thomas suffered a mental health episode, he and Malone recalled. The two had a conflict in their hotel room and someone overheard it and called the police, they said. Malone, who requested to use her middle name to protect her boyfriend's identity, said she was hoping officers would get him treatment and did not want to see him face criminal charges. But police took him to jail, accusing him of 'falsely imprisoning' his girlfriend in the hotel room, a charge Malone said she did not support. He was soon released on bond, but instead of walking free, was picked up by US immigration authorities, who transported him 100 miles away to an Ice processing center in Folkston, Georgia. The facility is operated by the private prison company Geo Group on behalf of Ice, with capacity to hold more than 1,000 people. Thomas was given a two-page removal order, which said he had remained in the US three days past his authorization and contained no further allegations. On 17 December, he signed a form agreeing to be removed. But despite signing the form he remained at Folkston, unable to get answers about why Ice wasn't deporting him or how long he would remain in custody. David Cheng, an attorney who represented Thomas, said he requested that Ice release him with an agreement that he'd return to Ireland as planned, but Ice refused. At one point at Folkston, after a fight broke out, officers placed detainees on lockdown for about five days, cutting them off from contacting their families, he said. Thomas said he and others only got approximately one hour of outdoor time each week. In mid-February, after about two months in detention, officers placed him and nearly 50 other detainees in a holding cell, preparing to move them, he said: 'I thought I was finally going home.' He called his family to tell them the news. Instead, he and the others were shackled around their wrists, waists and legs and transported four hours to a federal correctional institution in Atlanta, a prison run by the US Bureau of Prisons (BoP), he said. BoP houses criminal defendants on federal charges, but the Trump administration, as part of its efforts to expand Ice detention, has been increasingly placing immigrants into BoP facilities – a move that advocates say has led to chaos, overcrowding and violations of detainees' rights. Thomas said the conditions and treatment by BoP were worse than Ice detention: 'They were not prepared for us whatsoever.' He and other detainees were placed in an area with dirty mattresses, cockroaches and mice, where some bunkbeds lacked ladders, forcing people to climb to the top bed, he said. BoP didn't seem to have enough clothes, said Thomas, who got a jumpsuit but no shirt. The facility also gave him a pair of used, ripped underwear with brown stains. Some jumpsuits appeared to have bloodstains and holes, he added. Each detainee was given one toilet paper roll a week. He shared a cell with another detainee, and he said they were only able to flush the toilet three times an hour. He was often freezing and was given only a thin blanket. The food was 'disgusting slop', including some kind of mysterious meat that at times appeared to have chunks of bones and other inedible items mixed in, he said. He was frequently hungry. 'The staff didn't know why we were there and they were treating us exactly as they would treat BoP prisoners, and they told us that,' Thomas said. 'We were treated less than human.' He and others requested medical visits, but were never seen by physicians, he said: 'I heard people crying for doctors, saying they couldn't breathe, and staff would just say, 'Well, I'm not a doctor,' and walk away.' He did eventually receive the psychiatric medication he requested, but staff would throw his pill under his cell door, and he'd sometimes have to search the floor to find it. Detainees, he said, were given recreation time in an enclosure that was partially open to fresh air, but resembled an indoor cage: 'You couldn't see the outside whatsoever. I didn't see the sky for weeks.' He had sciatica from an earlier hip injury and said he began experiencing 'unbearable' nerve pain as a result of the lack of movement. Thomas said it seemed Ice's placements in the BoP facility were arbitrary and poorly planned. Of the nearly 50 people taken from Ice to BoP facility, about 30 of them were transferred back to Folkston a week later, and the following week, two from that group were once again returned to the BoP facility, he said. In the BoP facility, he said, Ice representatives would show up once a week to talk to detainees. Detainees would crowd around Ice officials and beg for case updates or help. Ice officers spoke Spanish and English, but Middle Eastern and North African detainees who spoke neither were stuck in a state on confusion. 'It was pandemonium,' Thomas said. Thomas said he saw a BoP guard tear up 'watching the desperation of the people trying to talk to Ice and find out what was happening', and that this officer tried to assist people as best as she could. Thomas and Malone tried to help asylum seekers and others he met at the BoP facility by connecting them to advocates. Thomas was also unable to speak to his children, because there was no way to make international calls. 'I don't know how I made it through,' he said. In mid-March, Thomas was briefly transferred again to a different Ice facility. The authorities did not explain what had changed, but two armed federal officers then escorted him on a flight back to Ireland. The DHS and Ice did not respond to inquiries, and a spokesperson for the Geo Group declined to comment. Donald Murphy, a BoP spokesperson, confirmed that Thomas had been in the bureau's custody, but did not comment about his case or conditions at the Atlanta facility. The BoP is now housing Ice detainees in eight of its prisons and would 'continue to support our law enforcement partners to fulfill the administration's policy objectives', Murphy added. It's unclear why Thomas was jailed for so long for a minor immigration violation. 'It seems completely outlandish that they would detain someone for three months because he overstayed a visa for a medical reason,' said Sirine Shebaya, executive director of the National Immigration Project, who is not involved in his case and was provided a summary by the Guardian. 'It is such a waste of time and money at a time when we're hearing constantly about how the government wants to cut expenses. It seems like a completely incomprehensible, punitive detention.' Ice, she added, was 'creating its own crisis of overcrowding'. Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, senior policy counsel with the National Immigration Law Center, also not involved in the case, said, in general, it was not uncommon for someone to remain in immigration custody even after they've accepted a removal order and that she has had European clients shocked to learn they can face serious consequences for briefly overstaying a visa. Ice, however, had discretion to release Thomas with an agreement that he'd return home instead of keeping him indefinitely detained, she said. The Trump administration, she added, has defaulted to keeping people detained without weighing individual factors of their cases: 'Now it's just, do we have a bed?' Republican lawmakers in Georgia last year also passed state legislation requiring police to alert immigration authorities when an undocumented person is arrested, which could have played a role in Thomas being flagged to Ice, said Samantha Hamilton, staff attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, a non-profit group that advocates for immigrants' rights. She met Thomas on a legal visit at the BoP Atlanta facility. Hamilton said she was particularly concerned about immigrants of color who are racially profiled and pulled over by police, but Thomas's ordeal was a reminder that so many people are vulnerable. 'The mass detentions are terrifying and it makes me afraid for everyone,' she said. Thomas had previously traveled to the US frequently for work, but now questions if he'll ever be allowed to return. 'This will be a lifelong burden,' he said. Malone, his girlfriend, said she plans to move to Ireland to live with him. 'It's not an option for him to come here and I don't want to be in America anymore,' she said. Since his return, Thomas said he has had a hard time sleeping and processing what happened: 'I'll never forget it, and it'll be a long time before I'll be able to even start to unpack everything I went through. It still doesn't feel real. When I think about it, it's like a movie I'm watching.' He said he has also struggled with long-term health problems that he attributes to malnutrition and inappropriate medications he was given while detained. He was shaken by reports of people sent away without due process. 'I wouldn't have been surprised if I ended up at Guantánamo Bay or El Salvador, because it was so disorganized,' he said. 'I was just at the mercy of the federal government.'
