Stokes given jail sentence over Dublin cocaine seizure

Former Republic of Ireland footballer Anthony Stokes has been handed a 15-month jail sentence over a seizure of almost €4,000 worth of cocaine and a high-speed car chase in Dublin.

The ex-Celtic and Sunderland player, who was over the alcohol limit, drove at 160 km/h and nearly collided with another motorist shortly after midnight on 6 January 2023.

Judge Grainne Malone handed down the jail sentence at Dublin District Court and imposed a five-year driving ban after it emerged that Stokes failed a recent drug test.

However, Stokes lodged €1,000 and was released on appeal bail shortly after the judge imposed the sentence.

The retired footballer, of Summerhill Place, Dublin 1, had also entered an additional guilty plea to possessing 86 illegal street tablets in Cabinteely, south Co Dublin, about ten days after the traffic pursuit, which the judge regarded to be an aggravating factor, and she refused to suspend any of the sentence.

Last month, Judge Malone had adjourned sentencing Stokes, 36, for a treatment report to prove he is off drugs, but it found he still had traces of cocaine in his system.

Defence solicitor Lorraine Stephens said her client was young, fit, and healthy and asked the judge to consider a community service order.

Ms Stephens said the father-of-three had been in denial about his problems, "is trying to battle his demons," and could need intensive psychological assistance and "proper residential treatment".

Judge Malone said Stokes could have faced up to two years' imprisonment. However, she gave him credit for his guilty pleas and imposed sentences totalling one year and three months.

Finalising the case, she noted the evidence about the nature of his driving, the speed and length of the chase, the fact that he