Three men detained after a £3 million drug seizure were released for the second time yesterday after a judge ruled they had been wrongfully arrested.
Judge William Earley ruled that suspects released from detention under the Drug Trafficking Act cannot be rearrested for the same offence.
The three men - Mr Patrick Ralph (33), of Village Crescent, Celbridge, Co Kildare; Mr Maurice O Riordain (22), of Pineview Road, Tallaght, Co Dublin; and Mr Christopher Burke (26), of Fettercairn, Tallaght - were first freed by the judge last Tuesday. Along with two others, they had been released from custody, rearrested earlier that day and charged with possessing cannabis with intent to supply at Aylesbury, Tallaght, on November 13th.
But Judge Earley set all five men free after ruling that gardai should have sought a warrant to rearrest the suspects after releasing them from custody under the Drug Trafficking Act, which allows detention for up to seven days.
Three of the men were then rearrested with warrants under the Misuse of Drugs Act on Tuesday evening and yesterday morning but Mr Ralph's counsel, Mr Luigi Rea, successfully argued that these warrants were "defective and invalid".
He said it was still unlawful to rearrest the men for the same offence they had been questioned about under the Drug Trafficking Act unless new information came to light.
The State solicitor, Ms Claire Loftus, argued the relevant sub-section was meant to prevent rearrest for further questioning but not for bringing charges.
However Judge Earley said this was not specifically stated in the legislation.
"The exceptional powers of detention granted under this Act create a duty for gardai to ensure these powers are exercised in accordance with the law," he said .
Later yesterday afternoon counsel for Mr O Riordain and Mr Burke were also granted applications to have their clients discharged from custody on the basis they had been wrongfully arrested.
These men were not in court as they had been remanded in custody before legal argument was heard in Mr Ralph's case but Judge Earley vacated his order and the men were due to be set free from Mountjoy Prison yesterday evening.
Dublin District Court heard on Tuesday that the Director of Public Prosecutions had advised gardai to release and then rearrest and charge the suspects because "certain difficulties" had arisen in relation to their detention.
The court heard yesterday that this was because Judge Desmond Windle, who extended the men's detention last Saturday, was not a judge designated for this purpose.
The other two men set free on Tuesday are still being sought by gardai.
Legal sources say the State can appeal Judge Earley's decision to the High Court or gardai can arrest the men again on the basis that they have new information.