Suspended sentence for NI chef on drugs charges
A chef from Northern Ireland has received a suspended gaol sentence for possession of cocaine, LSD and cannabis.
Formerly head chef at Ardtara in Upperlands, Eddie Atwell (30), is now head chef at St. Kyrans County House in Virginia, Co Cavan. He also appeared on the Great British Menu last year.
He appeared at Antrim Magistrates Court yesterday (February 14) charged with two counts of possessing class A drugs and one of possessing a class B drug.
The court heard that Atwell, who has a previous criminal record, was stopped by police at a checkpoint on the Dundrod Road near Antrim on February 22 last year. The officers smelled cannabis and went on to search the vehicle before Atwell told them that there were drugs in the rear of the car.
Atwell’s lawyer told the court that his client had been working long hours at his job in Cavan and that he had been taking the drugs to help him cope with stress connected to the “pressurised environment” in which he worked.
His employer had been supporting him with counselling, added the lawyer, who also pointed out that Atwell hadn’t taken any class A substances in four months.
Imposing a two-month jail sentence, suspended for a year, district judge, Oonagh Mullan warned that if drugs were a lifestyle choice, then Atwell would “face the consequences”.
