A man who flew to Spain to avoid giving evidence during a trial has been jailed for two weeks for contempt of court. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Keith Farrelly flew to Spain on a one-way ticket in the middle of the trial but arrived back on Thursday. Det Garda Karen Griffin told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that she arrested Farrelly in Dublin airport.
Farrelly, Swans Nest Road, Kilbarrack, had been ordered to appear as a witness in the trial of David Byrne (39), Swords, and Niall Byrne (29), Crumlin Road, who were charged with taking part in the abduction of Paul Richardson and his family and the robbery of €2.28 million from a cash-in-transit van.
A jury failed to return a verdict in that trial yesterday.