QUERY ABOUT INFORMER'S AGENT DENIED BY DETECTIVE

A DETECTIVE has denied he asked an informer accused of importing drugs
valued at pounds 1 million what went on between him and his garda handler
the previous night.

Detective Inspector Tim Mulvey denied he had a conversation with Declan
Griffin about Detective Sgt (then Garda) Denis Palmer and that he had asked
him: "what the hell went on between you and Denis last night," to which
Griffin replied: "I'd rather see Denny."

He also denied that towards the end of the interview he had said to Mr
Griffin: "if that's the case Dennis will sort it out."

Mr Griffin, 29, Bunratty Road, Coolock has pleaded not guilty to six drug
charges of possession of heroin and ecstasy for sale and supply and
importing heroin and ecstasy at Dublin Airport on December 20, 1995.

The drugs consisted of 2,999.4 grams of heroin and 2,056 tablets of ecstasy,
which were in four packages recovered from luggage collected by the accused
at the airport on his return from a trip to Amsterdam.

Det Insp Mulvey said he had never experienced bad feeling between gardai and
customs, in reply to an assertion by defence counsel Hugh Hartnett SC (with
Brendan Grehan BL) that a liaison officer had been appointed in 1996 after
this incident to prevent further botch ups between gardai and customs.

He agreed with Mr Hartnett that during Mr Griffin's detention it was unusual
that he had spoken to him for 75 minutes in the interview room, but said it
was not extraordinary. He said he had asked Mr Griffin a number of questions
time and again to no reply, and that was the reason he had only six lines of
recorded notes.

Det Insp Mulvey didn't reply when Mr Hartnett put to him that the entire
trial seemed to be dogged by a massive lack of curiosity on the part of gardai.

Det Insp Mulvey said he was aware that Griffin had received 36 to 40
stitches after his face had been sliced in prison. He agreed with counsel
that the relationship between an agent and an informer was one of trust and
secrecy or your throat would get cut.

Inspector (then Sgt) James Hynes told prosecuting counsel Denis Vaughn
Buckley SC (with Paul Coffey BL) that he had known for a couple of months
before the airport incident that Mr Griffin was an agent for Det Sgt Palmer
and that Det Sgt Palmer had been in contact with Mr Griffin on the day.

He told Mr Hartnett in cross examination that his detective colleagues did
not continue interrogating Mr Griffin after 11.30am as it was proving
unproductive because he made no reply to questions and kept looking at the
floor.

He said he did not accompany Det Insp Mulvey into the interview room as he
had to attend to duties unrelated to the seizure.

Asked why a group of gardai were sitting around at the station talking about
Det Sgt Palmer's presence at the airport but that no one had contacted
Palmer, he replied: "it was well known that Griffin was an agent for Det Sgt
Palmer."

Fingerprint expert Detective Garda John Gilligan told Vaughn Buckley no
marks were found on the drug packages. The trial continues at Dublin Circuit
Criminal Court before Judge Frank O'Donnell and a jury of eight men and four
women.