The six year term was suspended on a number of conditions.
A Tullamore man has been given a six year suspended jail sentence after cocaine worth €27,300 was discovered during a search of his home by gardaí last year.
Joe Sayles (40) a single man of Thornsberry Estate, Tullamore pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of drugs for sale or supply and a separate charge of possession of the drugs at his home on March 15, 2020.
Detective Garda Rory Heffernan told a sitting of Tullamore Circuit Criminal Court that a warrant was obtained for a search of Sayles’s home as a result of confidential information received as part of an investigation into the dealing of cocaine in Tullamore.
The court heard 390.2 grammes of cocaine was discovered in a black plastic bag hidden under a couch in Sayles’ living room.
A number of resealable plastic bags and weighing scales were also found during the search.
Det Garda Heffernan said Sayles told them he had been asked to hold the bag for a few days and had done so “like a f***ing eejit”.
However, he declined to tell gardaí who had provided him with the drugs out of fear for his life.
Under cross-examination by Colm Smyth SC for the defendant, Det Garda Heffernan agreed that the drugs were “not very well hidden.”
The witness described the defendant as “an easy target for this drugs gang”
In evidence, Sayles admitted he had “made a terrible mistake” by agreeing to mind the drugs.
“It is something I’ll regret for the rest of my life. I fell into a dark hole,” he told Judge Keenan Johnson.
He added: “I regret putting my ma and da in harm’s way. It’s been hell ever since.”
Sayles explained he had recently broken up with his long-term girlfriend at the time, while his mother had also been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
The court heard Sayles had originally told gardaí he had held the drugs for money but now admitted that was a lie as he had amassed a drug debt to feed his addiction.
However, Sayles said he was no longer taking drugs and was trying to turn his life around to make his parents proud.
Judge Johnson accepted that the accused was not actively engaged in the distribution of drugs and was acting under duress.
The judge observed it was people “at the lowest end of the rung” who ended up in court while the criminal masterminds involved in the drugs trade continued to evade justice.
He described such criminals as “the lowest of the low who are absolutely undermining society in the most fundamental way.”
Acknowledging that Sayles had shown remorse, the judge also noted that he was endeavouring to rehabilitate himself and was training to be a carer.
He also accepted that Sayles’ parents would experience huge difficulty if he was imprisoned as he was their primary carer while he also helped his sister and elderly neighbours.
The judge sentenced Sayles to six years in prison for the offence of possession for the sale or supply of drugs but suspended the entire term for a period of 10 years on condition that the accused kept the peace and placed himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 18 months as well as remaining drugs-free.
Judge Johnson sentenced Sayles to 240 hours of community service for the offence of possession.
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