An ex-British soldier has told the High Court gardai offered him clothes and cannabis to befriend Ian Bailey in a bid to find anything that would link the journalist to Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder.
Martin Graham's giving evidence in Mr Bailey's action for damages against the State and Garda authorities for alleged wrongful arrest on suspicion of killing the French film producer in 1996.
Martin Graham said he first met Ian Bailey after the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier when the journalist called to visit a friend in a house he was living in in Skibbereen.
He said Mr Bailey appeared very stressed and while he didn't want to be seen as a rat he thought it his civic duty to report the incident to gardai.
He said he met with detectives Liam Leahy and Jim Fitzgerald who came up with a crazy plan that he would befriend Ian Bailey to find anything that would link him to the French film maker but he said when he turned up at the journalist's house unannounced he was flatly turned away.
Martin Graham said afterwards he told the detectives Ian Bailey needed to chill out and have a good smoke which led to him being given seven ounces of hash which he smoked with friends at Kilcrohane festival.
He said he thought at this point the police were pretty stupid. He said the detectives 'weren't really interested in the truth'
Earlier today, the chief superintendent in charge of the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder investigation told the High Court that Ian Bailey is not under formal surveillance.
Evidence resumed today in the action of the former journalist against the State and garda authorities - for alleged wrongful arrest on suspicion of killing the French film producer in 1996.
Tom Hayes told the High Court he took up the position of chief superintendent in Bandon in 2010 and is now overseeing the Sophie Toscan du Plantier investigation.
He defended the gardaí decision to arrest Mr Bailey on suspicion of the murder in 1997, given that he had scratches on his body, a history of violence towards his partner and had reportedly made informal admissions about the killing.
Superintendent Hayes said the journalist remains a 'person of interest' to gardaí because of his own admission that he was missing from his house for a number of hours on the night of the murder - and there is nobody who can corroborate his whereabouts.
However, Superintendent Hayes denied there has been any formal surveillance of Mr Bailey in recent years - though he said incidents where he was sighted would have been put on the Pulse system.
