Letterkenny Court
A man who discovered he had been sold a stolen van may have to pay €3,000 to get it back after it was seized by Gardai.
The owner of the van, a Mr McGlinchey, appeared at Letterkenny District Court this morning following an order under the police property act.
Gardai have aplied to have the van destroyed but Mr McGlinchey wants the van back.
He addressed the court and said he had bought the van through a salvage company who had bought it from an insurance company.
However Garda Inspector Goretti Sheridan said the van had been stolen in the UK in 2005.
It had since been cloned and fitted with false registration plates.
It had been stored by Gardai since September 2015 and there were now up to €3,000 in storage fees due on the van.
Judge Paul Kelly said this was a complex legal matter and advised Mr McGlinchey, who was not legally represented, to seek legal advice.
Inspector Sheridan said Gardai accepted that Mr McGlinchey had bought the van in good faith.