Rachel Allen ‘devastated’ after son is arrested in drugs raid

Statement: Joshua and Rachel Allen THE son of Irish TV chef Rachel Allen faces a Garda investigation after he was arrested following the seizure of cannabis worth almost €30,000 (£27,000).

It followed a raid after a joint Garda-Revenue operation when a Customs and Excise officer at Portlaoise Mail Centre became concerned about a parcel destined for a specific Cork address.

Rachel and her husband Isaac said they were “absolutely devastated” at the detention last week of their son Joshua (18).

The chef said the family were issuing a statement purely because of the “frenzy of inquiries” in relation to Joshua from the media.

“He has been arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs (marijuana) with intent to supply them to others,” she said.

“He has admitted his guilt immediately and co-operated fully with the Garda.

“A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and when formally charged Joshua will be pleading guilty at the first opportunity. We are absolutely devastated at this turn of events.

“Our son is 18 years old, has never been in trouble with gardai, and has made a huge mistake, which will have profound consequences for him.”

She said the family were appalled at what was involved but needed to support their son in whatever action he now faced.

“We do not in any way condone his actions, in fact, we utterly condemn them, but it is not for us to condemn him,” she said.

“We must now try to look after our son and our family the best way we can.

“We would ask that the legal process would be allowed to proceed to deal with this matter, without interference, and that we would be allowed to deal with this, like any other parents in a similar position,” she said.

The raid was ordered over a suspicious package which arrived at the Co Laois postal centre labelled “clothing”.

It bore a US postmark and was addressed to a specific location in east Cork.