A “loving dad” who had just under €100,000 worth of cocaine at his Dublin home has been jailed for four years.
Paul Dardis (40), who has an address at Westpark, Tallaght, Dublin 24, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court charged with possession of drugs for sale or supply contrary to Section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
Judge Orla Crowe heard that Gardaî recieved information that controlled substances were being kept at the home of the accused before a Section 26 search warrant was obtained in respect of the home of the accused.
Prosecuting counsel, Emmet M. Nolan BL, told the court that when officers searched the home on the 18th of November 2022, they discovered €99,168 worth of cocaine, the bulk of which, €88,237.94 worth, was in the garden shed.
Remaining amounts of cocaine worth €2,958 were located in his bedroom, with approximatly €8,000 uncovered in the kitchen of the house.
Two bags of heroin, valued at €64, were also discovered, along with the balance of the cocaine, within the house.
Although Dardis claimed that the cocaine in the house was for his own consumption, it was not alleged that he was also a heroin user.
Benzocaine and another substance used for stretching cocaine were also discovered in the shed.
When interviewed by Gardaí, the accused took ownership of the cocaine in the house, but denied ownership of the larger amount in the shed.
Dardis claimed that he was holding the larger amount of drugs to reduce his own debt, also claiming that his family were “under threat” and that he had “no option” but to store the cocaine, his defending counsel, Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, argued.
The court heard that he has six previous convictions, all related to breaches of the Road Traffic Act, from Naas District Court.
Ó Lideadha argued that both Dardis and his partner suffer from “mental health problems” and that the accused was not involved in the distribution of the cocaine.
Judge Orla Crowe enquired if his actions were “for gain”, Mr. accepted that his client was benefiting insofar as he was reducing his own drug debt.
The court heard that his cocaine habit “escalated” after the “traumatic” death of his father a number of years ago.
Dardis has four children, the eldest of whom described him as a “loving dad”, but said that she was “upset” at him for bringing trouble on the family.
Work references described Dardis as “good-natured”, “hard working”, and “willing to help”.
He also helps a friend who suffers from mobility issues after an assault by driving him around, and “can’t say how sorry he is”, the court heard.
Judge Crowe said that Dardis was not on the lower end of the scale in the drug trafficking enterprise and that he had played “a vital role” and “knew what he was doing”.
She said that drug trafficking is “a trade that causes nothing but utter misery to this society”, before setting a headline sentence of six years in respect of the offending.
The court imposed an actual sentence of five years, of which the final 12 months are to be suspended on condition of cooperation with the Probation Services.