The ‘Breaking Bad’ Grand National horse linked to a record-breaking £27 million crystal meth bust

A 'BREAKING BAD' Grand National horse who's being backed to win the world's most famous race has links to one of Ireland's biggest ever drugs busts.

Gavin Cromwell's sensational stayer Stumptown was an awesome winner of the Cross Country Chase at last month's Cheltenham Festival.

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The further the race the more he enjoys it and odds of 10-1 for the 34-runner marathon suggest he has a right chance of landing the £500,000 first-place prize.

But before he hit the big time, Stumptown was owned by a slightly different group of people.

These days, Stumptown is roared home by the Furze Bush syndicate which is made up of four men from Ireland.

But before his role in a £27m crystal meth bust, Nathan McDonnell was down as one of the co-owners.

McDonnell was previously pictured in the winner's enclosure celebrating Stumptown's victories - a horse he owned ten per cent of.

But that all changed in February last year when he was charged in connection with the "biggest haul of crystal meth in the history" of the state of Kerry in Ireland.

The remaining Furze Bush members rushed to put out a statement soon after his arrest which read: "He was previously a ten per cent shareholder.

"He was not an owner at the time of entry to the Ultima (a race at Cheltenham Festival).

"No prize monies have ever been redistributed to shareholders."

McDonnell was eventually given 12 years behind bars for trafficking crystal meth.

A Special Criminal Court heard how he was going to be paid almost £150,000 by a crime gang for storing a large machine containing drugs at a garden centre.

The massive amount of drugs was then to be transported to Australia.

Ms Justice Melanie Greally said that while McDonnell might not have had direct knowledge of what was hidden inside the machine, he could "join the dots".

The drugs were apparently linked to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world's biggest cartels involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and murder.

A Garda search of a property later uncovered two submachine guns and ammunition magazines.

McDonnell pleaded guilty to helping a gang import drugs - his counsel, Michael Bowman SC, said before sentencing his client had been beaten up in prison and needed surgery on his face.

The garden centre owner pleaded guilty to importing methamphetamine, on October 16th, 2023, at Cork Port, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to 2019.

He also pleaded guilty to being involved in, or contributing to, with knowledge of a criminal organisation, the importation and supply of a controlled drug between dates in October 2023 and February 2024.

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