A Dublin man, who was “put upon” to keep drugs at his home due to his own dept from using, has been jailed for 2 years.
Garda Pierce O’Dwyer of Ballymun Garda Station gave evidence in respect of the accused, Darren Colton (40) of Shangan Court, Ballymun, Dublin 9, who was “asleep” when Gardaí forced entry into his address on foot of a search warrant on the 13th of January last.
Prosecuting counsel, Oisín Clarke BL, said that the accused had taken a sleeping tablets the previous night, and did not realise the Gardaí were present.
He made full admission in relation to cannabis and cocaine which was at the address, telling officers that there was “weed in the kitchen”and “rock on the table” in respect of 2kg of cannabis with a value of €40,000, and cocaine valued at €780, which the court heard was in “deal bags”.
Dominic McGinn SC, defeding, argued that his client had a good work history as a chef, but that he had developed a drug problem after losing his job due to the covid lockdowns.
His home had “had no trappings of wealth” he said, arguing that the offending was on the “lower end of the Section 15A realm”.
Referring to a drug debt the court heard he accused was operating under, Mr. McGinn said, “People like Mr. Colton inevitably get preyed upon by people higher up the ladder than he is.”
Judge Martin Nolan accepted that that the accused was holding the cannabis on behalf of other parties, but that he was “probably dealing a bit with the other drugs.”
Taking into consideration the accused’s lack of previous convictions, he said that Colton was “probably unlikely to reoffend to any great degree in future,” and that while the amount of drugs involved was “serious”, it was “not the most serious”.
The court sentenced the accused to 2 years in prison to be backdated to the 30th of January this year.