Convicted drug dealer absconds from Loughan House

Mr Mangan was caught with over €2m worth of cannabis in July of 2006

Gardaí are searching for a convicted drug dealer who absconded from Loughan House earlier this week.

John Mangan (53) from Whitestown Green, Blanchardstown was missing from the Blacklion-based Open Prison facility when final checks were being made on Monday night last, October 4.

Mr Mangan was caught with over €2m worth of cannabis in July of 2006.

The following year, courts heard he was caught with a loaded gun hidden in his trousers.

The Dubliner has been in jail for over ten years on drug and firearm offences.

He was due to complete his sentence in around three years’ time, and had been serving the final period of his imprisonment at Loughan House.

It is being reported that Mr Mangan faced being transferred to a closed prison facility for breaching prison rules after which he escaped.

The Irish Prison Service confirmed in a statement that a prisoner had absconded from Loughan House on October 4, 2021.

They added that gardaí have been notified.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana stated: “Cavan Gardaí are assisting the Irish Prison Service in tracing the whereabouts of a prisoner unlawfully at large since yesterday evening, 4th October 2021.”