A man transporting over €215,000 of cannabis was put under pressure by others after his €1,000 drugs debt ballooned to €26,000, a court has heard.
James Glynn (33) of Claraoibhinn, Claremorris, Co. Mayo, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for sale or supply on November 12, 2023, at Pinewood Park, Tallaght Co. Dublin. He has no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention since this incident.
Detective Garda Enda Gromley told prosecuting counsel yesterday that Gardai were carrying out a surveillance operation after receiving confidential information.
They observed Glynn stop his Toyota car and then engage with two other men. A Honda car driven by one of these men was reversed towards the boot of the Toyota, and a large suitcase was transferred into the boot.
Gardai later stopped Glynn's car. He told them there was “weed” in the boot. After caution, he said two suitcases of weed were in the boot, but he didn't know the value.
He told Gardai that he smoked cannabis and was made to do this as he had built up a drug debt of €27,000.
10.7kg of cannabis was found in the suitcases, with a value of €215,940.
Glynn made further admissions when Gardai interviewed him. He said he was the subject of extortion as he had run up a drug debt of €1,000, which he ignored for a few weeks as he was moving from Dublin back home to Mayo.
When he went to deal with the debt, he was told that a “tax” had to be paid, and he now owed €26,000.
Det Gda Gormley agreed that Glynn said he built up a small drug debt that he did not deal with while he was moving from Dublin back to Mayo, which became a more significant debt.
Judge Pauline Codd said it would be unjust to impose the mandatory minimum sentence in this case in light of Glynn's guilty plea, co-operation and material provided by Gardai.
She noted the mitigating features, including the guilty plea, Glynn's personal circumstances and that he was under threat at the time.
She said it was “extraordinary” that a debt of €1,000 could jump to €26,000 “at the whim of people higher up the drugs trade”.
Judge Codd said Glynn turned to “maladaptive means” to deal with his trauma but is now in counselling and taking steps to address the issues which underline his addiction.
She noted he was a “vulnerable” individual who was being threatened at the time but has demonstrated insight into the impact of his offending on society and on his family.
She said this case fell into the exceptional category and imposed a sentence of four and a half years, suspended in full on strict conditions, including 12 month probation supervision and that he must continue to attend counselling appointments.
