Niall O’Halloran, (57), ploughed his Volkswagen Passat into the front of a lorry killing the driver, Arturs Birznieks, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court had heard.

They said that the incident involving an articulated heavy goods vehicle (HGV) first began on the motorway.

This scan revealed a metal compartment concealed in the floor of the flat-bed trailer designed to prevent detection. This contained 40 kilos of cocaine contained in wrapped blocks

A sniffer dog indicated that there was something of interest in the cab of Doran's truck, which led to the discovery of eight bags of cannabis. The drugs were worth €1,020,400.