law & disorder | 

Garda jailed for taking ‘covert’ car on unauthorised trips has now retired

Judge estimates retired Garda clocked up 40,000kms on vehicle in a year

Today at 20:18

A FORMER garda sergeant has received a two-month jail sentence for taking a garda ‘covert car’ on unauthorised 350km round trips home.

Judge Andrew Cody handed down the sentence after estimating retired garda sergeant Ciaran Whelan would have clocked up 40,000kms on the vehicle in the space of a year.

Whelan, who was formerly based in Store St and who retired from An Garda Siochana on April 26th, appeared for sentencing before Portlaoise District Court on Thursday.

The car, the court heard had been assigned to the Divisional Drugs Unit based at Store Street Garda Station in Dublin for intelligence gathering.

Details of the charges included seven counts of unauthorised use of the vehicle at the Motorway Toll Bridge, Fatyharnagh, Mountrath between October 14th and 30th of 2020.

Judge Andrew Cody had previously heard that Whelan took the vehicle on 350 km round trips home while leaving his own vehicle parked at Store Street garda station.

In his defence, Whelan had claimed to the court that the car could not be parked at Store Street garda station due to the sensitive nature of the work it was used for.

A member of Garda Síochána for 28 and a half years, he said he was one of the sergeants in charge of the Divisional Drugs Unit at Store Street Garda Station.

They had two vehicles one was a large commercial vehicle and the other, the car in question in these proceedings.

These two vehicles arrived in February or March 2019, and he said he was instructed to find a location to park them.

He said as there was no designated parking for either vehicle, it was “up to us” to find parking for both of them.

He said Superintendent Tomas Gormley asked him 15 or 20 times over the 6 to 7 months to get the car away from the station and Superintendent Gormley didn’t care where he put it so long as it got away from the station.

Sergeant Whelan said he tried everything that he could, but he couldn’t find a suitable place to park it.

He said he would leave his private car at the station and take this car home and he knew it could be seen as taking some sort of advantage.

But he said there was no evidence of 1 cent of diesel being unaccounted for nor is there one cent of toll charges being unaccounted for.

He said he was saving mileage on his own car but wasn’t getting it for nothing he was paying for the diesel and paying for the toll bridge.

ut he said where any of the members attached to the unit were conducting official business outside of the district, they should have come to him noting whatever vehicle they intended to use.

It was put to Superintendent Gormley specifically that on one occasion when the vehicle was seen in proximity to Store Street Garda Station, he told Sergeant Whelan to “get that f****ng car out of here’.

He said he definitely did not say that, but he was aware of an instance where this particular car was parked in the compound at the back of the station which was reserved for Garda personnel and that he did say to Sergeant Whelan it should not be in the back yard of the station when it was a covert vehicle.

Passing judgement, Judge Andrew Cody said Superintendent Gormley’s evidence was clear that there was no authority, express or implied, to have this vehicle at the toll bridge on these dates.

“Having considered the evidence in its totality, I am satisfied that there were no grounds upon which Sergeant Whelan could reasonably conclude that there was no alternative but that he was required to take this vehicle home with him,” he said.

“Accordingly, the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Sergeant Whelan was driving the particular vehicle without lawful authority in the dates in question, and accordingly convicts Sergeant Whelan on all charges.”

The court heard the defendant had no previous convictions.

Judge Cody estimated that the car would have travelled approximately 1,000km per week.

He said over a year that would be 40,000kms.

He sentenced the defendant to four months in prison with the final two suspended.