The BBC reports
A retired garda (Irish police) superintendent has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for possessing cannabis worth almost €260,000 (£226,700).
John Murphy, 62, from Clontarf in Dublin pleaded guilty after the drugs were found at his home and car in September 2021.
The court heard that he owed more than €850,000 (£741,000) at the time.
His lawyers said he was a functioning alcoholic whose judgement was clouded.
Dublin Criminal Court heard that Murphy wanted to apologise to his family and An Garda Síochána for the hurt and embarrassment caused.
Sentencing him, the judge said he was not an innocent abroad and should have known better.
He said he should have been able to withstand the temptation of easy money.
The jail sentence was backdated to October 2021, when Murphy first went into custody.
A police inspector from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation said that as a result of information received, Murphy’s home in Dublin was searched on 29 September 2021.
Eight bags of cannabis herb were seized. One was found in a wardrobe and seven more bags were found in a coal bunker.
More cannabis was found in a bag in the back seat of Murphy’s car.
CCTV footage obtained by gardaí showed Murphy at a County Meath industrial estate collecting the bags subsequently found at his home.
In total almost 13kg of cannabis was found, valued at just over €259,000.
The court heard that during questioning, Murphy took responsibility for the drugs found and apologised.
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