A marked garda car was used to smuggle contraband across the border into the Republic as part of a business venture, the Smithwick Tribunal heard today.
Retired Sergeant Thomas Byrne, who was based in Dundalk for many years, said he told the gardaí in his unit that they should never be alone in a garda car with Sergeant Leo Colton.
He did this because the witness said he had been told Sgt Colton was involved in using the vehicle to smuggle contraband into the country.
He told the members of his unit while Sgt Colton was not present and he warned the gardaí not to mention it to them as the matter could end up in the High Court.
Asked about what was being smuggled, the retired sergeant said that it could have been televisions, washing machines and other items.
Some of them could have been transported across the border actually in the garda car or it could be that the garda car escorted another vehicle carrying the smuggled goods, he said.
Asked if it could have been for personal use, the witness said the impression he was given was that it was part of a business.
Mr Byrne acknowledged that he had no direct evidence of the allegations but just that he had been told by another member of the force.
The Tribunal also heard that Sgt Byrne and Sgt Colton fell out and Sgt Colton was moved to another unit.
As a result of comments made by Sgt Colton, the witness said he wrote a list of issues onto the blackboard in the garda station.
This raised concerns about shoplifting from a store in the town, who took money from the fee box in the snooker room within the garda station, who was using a patrol car for unauthorised purposes, who took a file from a station locker relating to illegal gaming, who informed the arcade owner of the contents of the file, who was taking advantage of women arriving into the station in distress and who was doing things in the tax office.
There were two other issues put on the blackboard but which the witness was told not to read out by the Tribunal.
When the material was wiped off the blackboard, he wrote it on it again and did so a total of three times. Eventually he was called to a meeting with the Superintendent who told him to stop as Mr Colton had connections.
Mr Byrne said he had no proof or evidence to back up his claims. It was hearsay, he acknowledged.
In response to questions from Judge Smithwick, Mr Byrne said the arcade owner was Jim McCann.
The Tribunal had been told that Mr Colton went to work for Mr McCann after his retirement and that Mr McCann had strong republican connections.
The witness also said that he had never heard any rumours that a garda had colluded with the IRA.
The tribunal is investigating claims that collusion had taken place which assisted the IRA in the murder of two senior RUC officers in March 1989.
Former Sgt Leo Colton, former Det Sgt Owen Corrigan and former Sgt Finbarr Hickey are being examined by the tribunal to see if they passed information to the IRA which led to the ambush in which they were killed, just minutes after leaving Dundalk Garda Station.
All three strenuously deny the allegations.
