The Supreme Court has quashed the conviction of a man jailed for ten years for having drugs valued at more than €13,000.
The court found the prosecution had failed to produce adequate evidence about the value of the drugs seized.
It set aside the conviction of Alphonsus Connolly of Kilraine Village, Rosslare Harbour in Wexford, for having amphetamines with a value of €13,000 or more for sale or supply.
The court said it would not order a retrial.
It ruled that there was no reason to believe a scientist, who gave evidence in relation to the amphetamine content of the drugs, would be able to give different evidence at a new trial.
Legislation provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of ten years for people found with illegal drugs valued at more than €13,000.
This judgment is likely to affect other prosecutions on drugs charges.
Mr Connolly had been permitted to bring an appeal to the Supreme Court on a point of law.
His trial had heard that only five of ten bags of white powder seized at Kill in Co Kildare in 2004 had been tested.
A scientist said she had established the five packs contained amphetamines.
However, she agreed she had not established exactly how much amphetamine was in the packs and said a purity value of 1% could not be excluded.
If the drugs had a purity of 1% then the value of the drugs would have been less than €13,000.
Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said it was not sufficient for the prosecution to prove the mere presence of amphetamines and rely on an unexplained range of values that 'generally' applies.
He said there was a gap in the prosecution evidence and the case should have been withdrawn from the jury.
