Brian Rattigan was lying on his bed in a Portlaoise Prison cell talking on a mobile phone when gardaí arrived to search his cell, the Special Criminal Court was told yesterday. Det Garda Gary Proudfoot said when he and two other detectives entered the cell, Rattigan jumped up and threw the phone in their direction.
Rattigan (31), with a last address at Cooley Road, Drimnagh, has pleaded not guilty to the possession of heroin and two counts of possession of the drug for sale or supply on Hughes Road South, Walkinstown, Dublin, on May 21st, 2008.
He has also pleaded not guilty to the possession of two mobile phones at Portlaoise Prison while an inmate on May 22nd, 2008.
The court has heard gardaí who raided a house on Hughes Road South discovered 5kg of heroin valued at over €1 million in a shed at the back of the property.
The Special Criminal Court was told the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, made an order that Rattigan should be tried at the non-jury court following an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions under the Offences Against the State Act.
The trial continues on Tuesday.