A CITY man was granted bail after he appeared in court charged in connection with the discovery of a quantity of cocaine which was found hidden in a chocolate Kinder egg.

A CITY man was granted bail after he appeared in court charged in connection with the discovery of a quantity of cocaine which was found hidden in a chocolate Kinder egg.

Andrew Colbert, aged 32, of Sarsfield Place, Edward Street, was arrested more than a year ago after gardaí searched his home.

He appeared before Limerick Court on Tuesday after he was charged with two offences under the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The charges include possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of sale or supply at his home on March 5, 2012.

Insp Brendan McDonagh said following the seizure a file had been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions who consented to the matter being dealt with in the district court.

Outlining the alleged facts of the case, he said gardai found a total of 10 bags of cocaine during a search of the defendant’s home at around 9.20pm on the date of the offence.

Insp McDonagh alleged that three bags of the drugs were found hidden in a chocolate Kinder egg and he claimed a further seven bags were found concealed in the back casing of a computer.

The total value of the drugs seized, he said, was €603.

Is is also the prosecution case that other items, which are associated with drug dealing were recovered by gardai in the house. These are alleged to include two tick lists, resealable bags and a weighing scales.

When the case was called, Garda Declan Michael O’Halloran gave evidence of arresting and formally charging Mr Colbert, who he said made no reply to the charges.

After hearing an outline of the allegations, Judge Aeneas McCarthy said he was willing to accept jurisdiction in the case.

The defendant, who is unemployed, was granted free-legal aid and solicitor Tom Kiely was assigned to represent him.

Insp McDonagh said there was no garda objection to bail and the judge remanded the defendant on bail until April 23, next when he is due to appear before the same court again.

Gardai were ordered to supply statements relating to the case to the defendant in advance of the next court date to allow Colbert to decide what course of action he is taking.