Irish celebrity chef Rachel Allen and her family have released a statement following the arrest of her 18-year-old son for possession and intent to supply drugs.

Joshua Allen was arrested at the family home in Shanagarry, Co. Cork - not far from the famous Ballymaloe House - by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau after they had tracked a package labelled 'clothing' to the address.

Instead of clothing, the package contained marijuana with a street value of €30,000, according to reports.

Allen - who has three children with Isaac Allen and is also well-known in the UK for her appearances on 'Saturday Kitchen' - released a statement saying "We are making a statement in response to, and hopefully to alleviate, the frenzy of enquiry and speculation on going in relation to our son Joshua.

"He has been arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs (marijuana) with intent to supply them to others. He has admitted his guilt immediately and co-operated fully with the Gardaí. A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and when formally charged Joshua will be pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

"We are absolutely devastated at this turn of events. Our son is eighteen years old, has never been in trouble with the Gardaí, and has made a huge mistake, which will have profound consequences for him. ‘We do not in any way condone his actions, in fact, we utterly condemn them, but it is not for us to condemn him. We must now try to look after our son and our family, the best way we can.

"We would ask that the legal process would be allowed to proceed to deal with this matter, without interference, and that we would be allowed to deal with this, like any other parents, in a similar position."

Gardai also released a statement that read: "As part of a joint operation, Revenue Customs Officers have seized approximately €30,000 (thirty thousand euro) of suspected Herbal Cannabis and Gardai have arrested a man in the Shanagarry area of East Cork.

Gardaí from the Divisional Drugs Unit in Anglesea Street, the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Revenues Customs Service from the South West Region, carried out a joint operation in the Shanagarry area of Co. Cork yesterday afternoon, 30th August 2018.

"During the course of this operation, Revenue Customs officers seized approximately 1 ½ Kilograms of suspected Herbal Cannabis with an estimated street value of €30,000."