A woman accused of running a homemade meth lab in Killarney has been granted bail to avoid the possibility of her case being struck out.
Anna Entrambasaguas, a mother-of-one in her 40s, of Knocknasartnett, Killarney, was released from custody on Monday morning.
Ms Entrambasaguas is accused of the possession of crystal meth for sale or supply, the possession of forged driving licences, and a machine designed for making fake IDs.
Gardaí have previously alleged that she had all the items required for a meth lab in her home, and she is heavily involved in the production of meth in this country.
Ms Entrambasaguas was refused bail at her first court sitting in November, then again in the High Court, and for a third time in Tralee District Court in March.
The state had objected to bail due to the seriousness of the charges, the strength of evidence, and the fact that gardaí deemed her a flight risk.
Because of the delay in progressing her case, Judge David Waters had marked her case peremptory against the state for this week; this means the case would proceed this week or else be struck out if the state wasn’t ready.
This week, her solicitor Brendan Ahern confirmed she had been granted bail by the High Court and was released on Monday morning.
The court heard that the state consented to bail at the High Court, because of the application that would otherwise have been made by her solicitor in Tralee District Court to have the matter struck out.
Judge Waters said the case had been marked peremptory against the state but clearly circumstances have changed, meaning he would allow a further adjournment.
He told Sergeant Manton that he still needed an update as to where the investigation is now.
Sergeant Manton told the court certain elements discovered at her residence had to be made safe, and samples of these were sent to Forensic Science Ireland.
The court previously heard that the army had to come to Killarney to conduct testing on substances found in Ms Entrambasaguas’ shed to make sure it was safe to transport, as it was unclear what the substances were.
During that court hearing, gardaí also said more charges will be brought in respect of these substances.
Sergeant Manton said the rest of the materials had now been analysed, and the garda file is with the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Judge Waters said he would remand Ms Entrambasaguas on bail to 18 June for DPP directions.
