A father of one has avoided jail after a happenstance discovery of a quantity of drugs at his former address, which was uncovered during a Dublin City Council eviction.
Glen McLaughlin (23) of Kilkiernan Road in Dublin 7 appeared before the Circuit Criminal Court, having pleaded guilty to having drugs in his possession for sale and supply.
Judge Orla Crowe heard that during a scheduled eviction from a Dublin City Council property at Scribbles Town Rise, Finglas, Dublin 11, on the 19th of November 2025, council personnel came across several suspicious items in McLaughlin’s bedroom. leading them to notify An Garda Síochána.
Garda Sharon Clarke agreed with prosecuting counsel, Jane Murphy BL, that when she opened a wardrobe in the bedroom during a search of the property, she discovered €15,078 worth of MDMA as well as two weighing scales.
Cannabis with a street value of €379,80 was also uncovered, which the accused claimed was for his own use. 13 2CB tablets, worth €130, were also discovered.
Although McLaughlin was not present at the time of the Garda search, he made himself available to be interviewed at a later date and made full admissions in respect of the drugs and paraphernalia.
The court heard that the accused, who is now engaged to the mother of his child, admitted that he had taken “party drugs” for a period of time, but now claims to be drug-free and working hard to support his child.
He said that he was holding the MDMA on behalf of a third party in efforts to reduce a drug debt he had accrued from his own use.
Oisín Clarke BL, defending, argued that his client had made a distinction between supplying and selling drugs, saying that he would pass them to others but was not being paid for this.
Mr Clarke pointed to a character reference from McLaughlin’s fiancée, who was present in court, arguing that the young man had turned his life around.
He works full-time and is doing a welding course in the evenings, Mr Clarke said.
Judge Crowe said that drugs “cause havoc in society” and that McLaughlin’s actions had aided this.
She set a headline sentence of three years before reducing this to a sentence of 18 months, which was fully suspended for a period of three years.
“He is a young man” who started making “very, very bad decisions”, she said.