The oldest son of celebrity chef Rachel Allen has today appeared in court on drugs charges.
Joshua, 19, was arrested and formerly charged on six counts contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 this morning.
His lawyer informed Midleton District Court, which is a few short kilometres from his family’s famous Ballymaloe estate and cookery school, he is to plead guilty to the charges.
Four of them relate to the possession on August 30, 2018, of cannabis and the possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Shanagarry, Co Cork in Ireland.
Joshua, 19, was arrested and formerly charged on six counts contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 this morning (he is pictured left aged 14). He was not joined in court by his mother Rachel (right) or father Isaac
Four of the teenager’s charges relate to the possession on August 30, 2018, of cannabis and the possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Shanagarry, Co Cork in Ireland
They also relate to the possession and intent to supply of a prohibited drug worth more than €13,000 and the possession of a quantity of cocaine.
The other two charges relate to the possession of cannabis and the possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply at his house at Ballinamona, Shanagarry, Co Cork, on September 5, 2018.
Inspector Sean McCarthy, of Anglesea St Garda Station in Cork city, addressed the court, and said: ‘On today’s date at 10.24am, I formally arrested Mr Joshua Allen and I then charged him.
‘I then handed him a true copy of each charge sheet.
‘And I cautioned him as follows: ‘You are not obliged to say anything but anything you do say will be taken down in writing and could be held in evidence against you’.
‘Mr Allen made no reply.’
The teenager was first arrested on August 30, 2018 after Revenue officers seized 1.5kg of cannabis herb destined for his family’s famous cookery school estate. In a statement released to the Irish Daily Mail at the time, Rachel, 46, said her son Joshua had made a ‘huge mistake’
Inspector Tony O’Sullivan then told the court that Mr Allen had indicated that he was going to provide a signed pleas of guilty to all charges.
And he told Judge Brian Sheridan: ‘The Director of Public Prosecutions has indicated that the matter be dealt with on indictment.
‘The DPP has consented to the matter being sent forward on a signed plea of guilty’
And Don Ryan, Mr Allen’s lawyer, also told the court: ‘He is going forward on signed pleas of guilty.’
The teenager, who was not accompanied in court by his mother or father Isaac, stood in silence during the brief hearing.
He was then remanded on bail to next appear at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on May 8.
Ms Allen has previously said of her son’s drugs charges: ‘We are absolutely devastated at this turn of events. We do not in any way condone his actions’
Before Judge Sheridan arrived, he had sat either staring at the ground infront of him or straight ahead of him.
Anybody who had to pass him to sit on the same wooden bench was greeted with smile and a friendly ‘Sorry, excuse me’, as he stood up to let them pass.
At other times, he also sat with his feet resting on the back of the bench in front of him and stared around him at the packed court room.
He left the court with his lawyer and headed into a nearby shopping centre followed by camera crews and photographers.
Later, after they had gone, the two men emerged and headed for a car park a few streets away from the back of the court.
They headed for a silver 191-reg Land Rover Discovery Sport which was parked on the street with its engine running.
The teenager shook his lawyer’s hand and then got into the back seat of the 4×4.
It then drove off in the direction of Shanagarry where he lives 15 kms from the court.
He was first arrested on August 30, 2018 after Revenue officers seized 1.5kg of cannabis herb destined for his family’s famous cookery school estate.
It is understood the 18-year-old had been under Garda surveillance for a considerable length of time, and the drugs seized had been posted from America.
The package, which had been labelled ‘clothing’, was detected by Customs officers in the mailing centre in Portlaoise who then informed gardaí of the suspicious package they’d found.
Allen is a frequent guest on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, and is one of the presenters on the Good Food Channel Market Kitchen show
In a statement released to the Irish Daily Mail, Rachel, 46, said her son Joshua had made a ‘huge mistake’.
She said: ‘We are making a statement in response to, and hopefully to alleviate, the frenzy of enquiry and speculation ongoing in relation to our son Joshua.
‘He has been arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs (marijuana) with intent to supply them to others.
‘He has admitted his guilt immediately and co-operated fully with the gardaí.
‘A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and when formally charged Joshua will be pleading guilty at the first opportunity.
‘We are absolutely devastated at this turn of events.
‘Our son is 18 years old, has never been in trouble with the gardaí, and has made a huge mistake, which will have profound consequences for him.
‘We do not in any way condone his actions.
‘In fact, we utterly condemn them, but it is not for us to condemn him.
‘We must now try to look after our son and our family, the best way we can.’