A passenger in a car got so nervous at a garda checkpoint that gardaí suspected he might have drugs on him – and in fact he had over €3,800 worth of cocaine.

Garda Carla Pericho testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that the offence dated back to October 23 2020.

On that date, Garda Pericho was operating a checkpoint at Ballyclamasy, Youghal, County Cork, when she stopped a car in which Michael Ryan of 15 Chestnut Drive, Youghal, was a passenger.

“He was nervous and evasive and there was a small weighing scales in the central console of the vehicle. During the course of this search he had a large quantity of cocaine on his person.

"The drug in a plastic wrap was retrieved from his trousers.

“He did not cooperate. He made no comment at interview,” Garda Pericho said.

Defence barrister, Suzanne Lewis, said the 20-year-old recently got into employment and had not come to the attention of gardaí since. He had no drug convictions before.

“He had a drug debt and he agreed to carry the drugs in lieu of paying that debt.” 

Judge Helen Boyle said she was prepared to impose a fully suspended two-year sentence. 

She noted that the defendant had to potential to become “a productive taxpaying member of society.”