The High Court has refused an application by Dutch national Zoran Andjelkovic seeking release from Cloverhill Prison, finding that he was being detained in accordance with law following a drugs prosecution arising from a Garda operation in Swords.
Mr Justice Hedigan delivered judgment on March 4, 2009, in proceedings under Article 40.4.2 of the Constitution. That procedure, commonly used to test the legality of a person's detention, allows the High Court to order release where custody is not legally justified.
Andjelkovic was arrested on December 13, 2008 after gardaí approached him while he was sitting in a vehicle at Airside Retail Park. The vehicle was searched and he was told during questioning that two kilograms of cocaine, then valued at about €150,000, had been concealed inside it.
He was initially charged with possession and possession for sale or supply. He remained in custody while directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions were awaited.
On February 10, 2009, prosecutors brought an additional charge under section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act, which applies where the market value of drugs is €13,000 or more. By then 57 days had passed since Andjelkovic's first District Court appearance. The statutory period for serving the book of evidence was 42 days.
The District Court refused a further extension for the original charges and struck them out, but allowed the new section 15A charge to proceed and remanded Andjelkovic in custody.
In the High Court, Andjelkovic argued that the new charge was effectively the same as the earlier section 15 charge and should not restart the statutory timetable. Mr Justice Hedigan disagreed. He found that prosecutors had acted in good faith and that there was no evidence the new charge had been introduced simply to circumvent the 42-day rule.
The judge said fresh charges can be brought against an accused where appropriate, provided the process is bona fide and does not cause serious injustice. He therefore refused the application for release.