Gardai nab drug driver after chase through county Kilkenny

A driver under the influence of drugs led gardai on a chase on one of Kilkenny’s busy roads after the driver tried to avoid a garda checkpoint.

The Kilkenny Roads Policing Unit and Freshford Gardaí were conducting a Manditory Intoxication (MIT) checkpoint in Freshford on Sunday night when they spotted a vehicle trying to turn away from the check.

A gardai patrol car went in pursuit of the driver who had done a u-turn on the road to try and avoid arrest.

Following what the gardai have called a “brief pursuit,” the driver and vehicle were stopped.

The driver was asked to undertake a roadside oral fluid test and they tested positive for cannabis. The gardai, through their roadside app, discovered the car had no NCT.

The car was seized and the driver arrested for drug driving.

A blood specimen was taken back at the Garda Station and has been sent off for analysis.

A local garda spokesperson once again is urging the public to “never drive while intoxicated.”