UNIVERSITY LECTURER ‘SOLD DRUGS TO STUDENTS’
€25k cannabis haul at academic’s home after tip-off that he may have been campus dealer
A LECTURER at a Dublin university has been arrested after cannabis worth €25,000 was seized at his home. The man, who is in his early 40s, was arrested after a Garda
tip-off that he may have been dealing to students on campus.
When gardaí raided his Dublin home on January 29, they found €25,000 worth of cannabis, weighing scales and more than €5,000 in cash. The academic was arrested on suspicion of sale and supply.
The Mail understands that gardaí discovered the cannabis bagged and concealed at the property, ready for sale and supply.
The man was taken to a local
Garda station where he was questioned for a number of hours before being released without charge.
However, gardaí last night confirmed that investigations were ongoing and that a number of lines of inquiry were being followed.
A senior source told the Irish Daily Mail that gardaí ‘received a tip-off that the individual may have been linked to the sale and supply of drugs on the college campus’.
They said members of the drugs unit conducted a raid on January 29 at a property in Dublin. ‘During the course of this search, gardaí discovered a large quantity of cannabis to the sum of €25,000, a weighing scales was also discovered on the premises, as well as €5,000 in cash,’ the source said.
It’s understood that after gardaí raided the home of the lecturer he was released without charge but that the investigation is ongoing.
The senior source confirmed that one line of inquiry being followed ‘is that the individual arrested may have been supplying and selling drugs to students within their work environment, to which they had access to students.’
Practically all of the universities and colleges across the country have strict drug policies stated on their websites.
Most universities state there is a clear ‘no drugs’ policy in place for students. However, the universities make no specific reference to academic staff.
All teaching staff at Irish universities are Garda-vetted before assuming their roles. Heavy penalties apply for students caught with drugs, for personal use or supply, inclusion suspension from college or prosecution.
Among the drugs specifically prohibited on some of the top Irish universities’ websites are opiates, narcotics, cannabis and amphetamines.
Colleges across Ireland say they want to promote safe and healthy campus life for students, and students are discouraged from partaking in drugs or excessive drinking of alcohol, according to universities’ websites.