Man jailed over €6m drugs seizure

A man has been sentenced after he was was caught with over €6m (£5.26m) worth of drugs at Dublin Port, five years ago.

Padraig Casey of Drumalt Road, Newry was found guilty of five counts relating to the seizure of cannabis and cocaine in June 2020.

The 45-year-old was sentenced to 13 years, following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Sentencing Casey, Judge Elma Sheahan said aggravating factors in this case were the seriousness of the offence, the nature of the drugs, the amount of drugs seized and that Casey used his legitimate business to import drugs into the country.

The court heard that Casey was stopped at Dublin Port upon returning from Rotterdam.

His truck was searched and 93kg of cannabis and 60.9kg worth of cocaine had been found.

His charges were possession of cannabis and cocaine, as well as the possession of both drugs for sale and supply.

During the trial the judge noted that Casey had been the owner and director of a haulage company and during his garda (Irish police) interview he stated that he was “anti-drugs”.

The judge said Casey was actively involved in the process, with no question of him being under duress.

In mitigation, Judge Sheahan said she would consider the testimonial handed into the court, the support of Casey’s family and his lack of previous convictions for this type of offending.

She set the sentence of 15 years and reduced it to 13 years, taking the mitigation into account.

Anthony Sammon SC, defending, said his client was extremely remorseful for his actions on the day in question.

Casey told his trial that he believed the cylinders in question contained cigarettes and that he had no knowledge that drugs were involved.