The 38-year-old driver of a car which rammed a taxi was still in custody last evening under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act and may be held for up to seven days. The 35-year-old passenger accompanying him underwent surgery last night and was still in hospital but was expected to be arrested immediately upon his release.
According to Garda sources in Cork, £50,000 worth of cannabis was seized following a high-speed chase through the city on Tuesday, during which the two men drove a stolen van against the normal flow of traffic. Several Garda checkpoints were set up but the men drove through them at great speed, endangering the lives of pedestrians and gardai on duty.
It is understood they were witnessed jettisoning a stash of cannabis en route and the haul was later recovered by the Garda, who put its street value at about £50,000.
Eventually, having driven up a one-way street, the car came to a junction with Cork's South Link Road, where it collided with a taxi, whose driver, Mr Wayne Lefondre, was seriously injured. A passenger, Ms Karen Horgan (15), was later discharged from hospital. A man from Mayfield, who was also in the taxi and who was also injured, was described as being in a comfortable condition at Cork University Hospital.
The two occupants of the car were also brought to hospital following the collision. The driver was flung from the window of the car during the incident. It is understood that a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Earlier, as the stolen car tried to evade another road check, three Drug Squad officers received minor injuries. According to Supt Kieran McGann in Cork, the incident was seen as a very serious one in which many people might have lost their lives.