The drug runner told Mr Doyle about bringing in cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis, and firearms.

“Massive amounts of drugs were coming in and quantities were allowed to get into the hands of the criminal gang,” said Mr Doyle. “He told me how he was being well looked after financially by both the criminal gang and the gardaí.”

The drug runner also spoke of leaving a handgun in a wooded area in Cork. He contacted a detective sergeant about the gun’s location and gardaí then added a number of firearms to “beef up the find” and the media reported it as a subversive arms find.

This was done to “further their careers”, the drug runner told Mr Doyle.

Commenting on the claims, Mr Wallace said: “One of them is now an assistant commissioner. He was appointed by the former minister, Alan Shatter. This same individual has been involved in the Boylan case which is a very similar story to Jack Doyle’s.”