Rachel Allen ‘devastated’ at son’s drug-smuggling arrest
Celebrity chef Rachel Allen has said that her family’s priority is to look after her 18-year-old son following his arrest in connection with the seizure of €30,000 worth of cannabis.
In a statement last night, Rachel and her husband Isaac said the family was “absolutely devastated” and confirmed Joshua is co-operating with gardaí and has admitted his guilt.
“We are absolutely devastated at this turn of events,” said Ms Allen. “Our son is 18 years old, has never been in trouble with the gardaí, and has made a huge mistake, which will have profound consequences for him.
“We do not in any way condone his actions. In fact, we utterly condemn them, but it is not for us to condemn him.
We must now try to look after our son and our family the best way we can.
The reported on Saturday that a teenager has been detained in the Shanagarry area of Cork following a joint Garda-Revenue operation, involving both local and national units.
The operation was put into place after Revenue officers at the Portlaoise Mail Centre detected a suspicious package.
Some 1.5kg of herbal cannabis, with an estimated street value of around €30,000, was found concealed in a parcel labelled as “clothing”, which had originated in the US and was destined for an address in Cork.
Revenue contacted gardaí, and a controlled delivery operation was co-ordinated by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Divisional Drugs Unit based in Anglesea Street Garda Station in Cork.
The teenager was subsequently released without charge and a file is being prepared for the DPP.
Ms Allen confirmed the teenager in question is her son. She said she wanted to issue a statement in response to, and to hopefully alleviate, the frenzy of speculation in relation to Joshua, the eldest of her three children.
He has been arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs (marihuana) [sic] with intent to supply them to others,” she wrote.
“He has admitted his guilt immediately and co-operated fully with the gardaí.
“A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and when formally charged Joshua will be pleading guilty at the first opportunity.
“We would ask that the legal process would be allowed to proceed to deal with this matter, without interference, and that we would be allowed to deal with this, like any other parents, in a similar position.”
Some 109 drug detections have been made by Revenue officers in Portlaoise Mail Centre this year.
In 2003, Rachel Allen’s father-in-law, Tim Allen, was sentenced to 240 hours of community service and agreed to pay €40,000 to a charity after he was caught with images of child pornography on a computer.
