A farmer in his early 70s from Co Monaghan has been fined €7,500 plus €600 costs, after he was found to be in possession of a large quantity of angel dust, along with animals treated with the product.

Newbliss dairy farmer Owen Quigley pleaded guilty to the charges against him at Monaghan district court on Monday 26 July.

As well as the fine, Judge Denis McLoughlin ordered the forfeiture of the property seized in the search.

The investigation followed a positive result for one animal in a random sample taken as part of the National Residue Control Programme at ABP Clones during mid-May in 2016.

The cattle were seized and removed from the food chain. The origin of the clenbuterol was not determined

The Department of Agriculture told the Irish Farmers Journal: “The positive result triggered an extensive search and sampling exercise which identified 45 litres of product on the farm and 27 cattle were found with residues.

“The cattle were seized and removed from the food chain. The origin of the clenbuterol was not determined. It appeared to have been on site for some time and was similar to product seized by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) some years previously.”

Banned hormones

Although different from the recreational drug angel dust or PCP, clenbuterol is often referred to by the same nickname.

It is a beta-antagonist drug, part of a group of muscle growth-promoting chemicals banned across the European Union along with hormones in a 1996 directive.

It was previously banned in Ireland and the fight against such illegal substances led to the creation of a Special Investigations Unit in the Department of Agriculture at the time.

Its use has since been monitored through the National Residue Control Programme, with multiple offences recorded until the late 1990s.

A case was also recorded in 2011, again in Co Monaghan.