A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Cannabis with estimated value of 200,000 found in Offaly
Gardaí in Co Offaly seized an estimated 500 cannabis plants with a potential street value of €200,000 during a search at a property last night.
A man in his 20s was arrested at the house in Ballycumber near Clara. The man, who is understood to be from Dublin, is being detained at Tullamore Garda station under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. Two other men fled the scene in a van. Gardaí gave chase and dozens of plants were dumped from the van before the men escaped. Gardaí were carrying out a technical examination at the house last night.
Smithfield Horse Fair ban sought
The Department of Agriculture wants a "complete and outright ban" imposed on the Smithfield Horse Fair, according to an official document. Briefing material for the Minister for Agriculture obtained under the Freedom of Information Act stated: "In the context of recent events at Smithfield Horse Fair, DAFF 9 the Department supports the enacting of primary legislation for a complete and outright ban . . ."
New car insurance pilot scheme for NI
A project that monitors driver behaviour to help set car insurance prices is to be piloted in Northern Ireland.
A data recorder would be fitted to vehicles to assess how they are driven. A recent European Court of Justice ruling means that from December 2012 gender will no longer be considered when assessing risk. This will add to the rising cost of motor insurance in the North, the firm behind the device Autoline Insurance said.
Fifth package found in Celtic case
Scottish police investigating parcel bombs sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two high-profile club supporters said yesterday another suspect package was intercepted in Northern Ireland.
Officers are still looking for whoever was responsible for sending parcel bombs. The packages were designed to cause serious harm to the recipient, police said.
The latest package, believed to be a parcel bomb, was found at the National Returned Letter Centre in Belfast. It is the fifth package to be intercepted. Strathclyde police believe the package entered the postal system at about the same time as the devices already under investigation.
Police officers in the North recovered the package and alerted Scottish police.
A police spokeswoman said the latest find would be made safe and handed over to officers in Scotland for further investigation. – (PA)