A NEWRY man whose lorry was found to contain £1.5 million worth of ecstasy has claimed that gardai fabricated statements and strip-searched him after his solicitor had left a Dublin station.
"If everything I said was taken down word for word, this trial would have ended a long time ago," he told the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. He also claimed that gardai had tried to get him to say he believed he was transporting cannabis instead of ecstasy. The prosecution alleges that Mr Declan Donaghy (27), of Newry, Co Down, agreed to transport the ecstasy from England on behalf of a Dundalk-based drug dealer on April 29th, 1998. Mr Donaghy denies the charges.
Cross-examined by by Mr Padraig Dwyer, prosecuting, the defendant said that after he was taken to Santry station, Det Garda Peter McGuinness told him to say he believed he was transporting cannabis.
When it was put to him that he was being evasive and was trying to give the impression he wasn't very clever, Mr Donaghy replied: "I'm not trying to give that impression, but I wouldn't class myself as clever, no."
Mr Dwyer later noted that Mr Donaghy understood the word "distracted". Mr Donaghy replied: "Excuse me, Mr Dwyer, but I'm not entirely stupid."
The trial continues before Judge Frank O'Donnell and a jury.