Counsel for one of the three men charged in connection with the west Cork cocaine haul has suggested that his client is an innocent figure who was exploited and used by others.
€440m worth of cocaine was recovered from Dunlough Bay in Co Cork last year.
Blaise O’Carroll, senior counsel for Joe Daly, told the jury that given his client's background as a builder making very little money, there was no way he could make a contribution to the purchase of the drugs or the paraphernalia that went with the operation.
The trial is hearing closing submissions for the three defendants.
The jury was told that Mr Daly's brother is a former detective sergeant in the London Metropolitan Police drugs squad, who was charged two months ago with an attempt to traffic 200kg of drugs into England.
The jury was asked to consider the relationship between Joe Daly and Michael Daly since they were children and as they grew up.
Michael Daly was six years older than Joe Daly and, Mr O'Carroll said, was involved in the war against drugs.
However, Mr O'Carroll suggested, Michael Daly had gravitated towards crime through contacts made in his work and his brother Joe became used and exploited.
Mr O'Carroll claimed there was an innocent explanation for Joe Daly's involvement in this drugs operation, but the prosecution wouldn't hear it.
