Man who stored over €64,000 of cannabis gets suspended sentence

Man who stored over €64,000 of cannabis gets suspended sentence

A Dublin man has received a fully suspended sentence for storing over €64,000 of cannabis at his home to offset a drugs debt.

Garda Mark Quill told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Mark McKenna, 29, made full admissions and co-operated after officers found 3kg of the drug and €150 in counterfeit notes at his home.

Mr McKenna, of Castlewood, Huntstown, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing €64,660 of cannabis at his address on October 20, 2016. He has no previous convictions.

Judge Karen O’Connor sentenced Mr McKenna to three years imprisonment, but suspended the entirety of the sentence provided that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period of three years, that he engage with The Probation Service for 18 months and that he complete a residential drug treatment program.

Gda Quill told Antonia Boyle BL, prosecuting, that Mr McKenna had been attempting to discard two large black bags when gardaí entered the premises but he admitted he had cannabis on the scene.

The garda agreed with Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, defending, that her client had been unemployed, consuming vast amounts of cannabis and had been in the “sphere of influence of some serious people”.

He further agreed McKenna was “extremely far down in the pecking order” in the drugs trade. The court heard that Mr McKenna had reason to be in fear due to a drug debt.

Ms Lawlor submitted that the Probation Service had deemed her client at low risk of re-offending.

Judge O’Connor said the aggravating factors in the case were the nature of the offending and the impact it had on society. She said the mitigating factors were his early plea of guilty, his admissions to gardaí, his previous good character and his impressive work history.

She said that there were no indications of financial gain by Mr McKenna and stated that she “did not see a benefit to incarcerating” him.

Aoife Nic Ardghail & Brion Hoban, CCC.nuacht

Share icon
Share this article: