MAN CAUGHT WITH €105K COKE IN VAN AFTER HE FAILED DRUG DRIVING TEST

Courier admits he transported haul to settle debt with dealer

-  CHRIS MCNULTY

A MAN was found with almost €105,000 worth of cocaine after failing a drug-driving test.

Gardai found 1,488.3 grams of the drug concealed in a Vauxhall Combo van being driven by Mark McMonagle in January 2021.

The 26-year-old admitted possession of a controlled drug and will be sentenced on Wednesday at Letterkenny Circuit Court by Judge John Aylmer.

Garda Eimear Hassett told prosecutor Patricia McLaughlin she was on duty at checkpoint at Lifford, Co Donegal, when a colleague stopped McMonagle's vehicle.

After he failed a roadside test for cocaine, he was arrested and taken to Letterkenny Garda station, where cocaine was found in his wallet.

McMonagle, of Sylvan Park, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, appeared "nervous and agitated" and he was told the vehicle would be searched. After the cocaine was found in bags, McMonagle told officers: "You think those were mine?