Hotel manager jailed after being caught with €80,000 cannabis herb

By Isabel Hayes

A hotel manager was caught with just under €80,000 of cannabis herb after a garda posing as a delivery driver delivered the package to his home address.

Eoin Claxton (37) texted his partner five minutes before the parcel arrived to his address in Rathgar, Dublin, saying: “I have to meet this fucking delivery, a lot of money is riding on it,” Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday.

The court heard the package contained 4.8kg of cannabis herb with a street value of €79,824.

Claxton, of Brighton Road, Rathgar, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing drugs for sale or supply at his home address on December 14, 2020. He was jailed for 18 months.

Claxton took the stand and told his sentence hearing that he was laid off during the pandemic, was isolated from family and friends and started gambling “recklessly”. He said he built up a debt of between €8,000 to €9,500 and was offered a deal whereby he would take in the drugs package to pay off this debt.

Sentencing Claxton on Friday, Judge Elma Sheahan took into account the fact that Claxton is in employment and is caring for two stepchildren. She accepted he got involved in this offending because of a gambling debt and that he is now remorseful.

However, the judge said she could not overlook the seriousness of the offence and said a custodial sentence was inevitable. She handed down a sentence of three years and suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions.

She said she was conscious of the family difficulties Claxton was facing and as a result, she adjourned the sentence for four weeks to allow him to put arrangements in place. She remanded him on bail until July.

Detective Garda DJ O’Connor told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that customs officials intercepted the package, which was then discovered to contain the drugs. It had arrived from a Spanish address and was addressed to a Jackie O’Shaughnessy from a Molly Maguire.

A staged delivery was organised between customs and the gardaí, with a garda phoning the number on the package shortly before delivering it.

Claxton answered the phone number listed on the package and claimed he was Alan O’Shaughnessy – Jackie’s brother. The package was delivered to his door, where he signed for it under this name. He was then immediately arrested at the scene.

Claxton’s home was searched, with no evidence of drug paraphernalia found, the court heard. His phone was also seized and a number of messages were retrieved. The court heard that in the days before the delivery, Claxton had been messaging an individual expressing his irritation at the delay in the package arriving.

“At the end of the day, this is not my shit,” Claxton wrote to this person, the court heard. “I don’t give a bollox if it arrives or not. I’m the spa sitting here waiting two days for it.”

The other person responded with a package delivery number and assuring Claxton it was on its way. Claxton told the court he was not surprised he was arrested, as the delays had aroused his suspicions the package had been intercepted.

He told the court he was very sorry for his actions that day. He has 36 previous convictions, mostly for road traffic offences, but also for theft and fraud, criminal damage, assault and public order offences.

Alexander White SC, defending, said his client has been working as a service manager at a hotel for over two years now. His employer is aware of his court case and the HR manager was in court to support Claxton, defence counsel said.

Claxton has been promoted twice since joining the hotel and is a good employee, the court heard. A number of testimonials were handed into court.

He has a teenage child with a previous partner and currently lives with his fiancée and her two children, Mr White said. His partner has been in hospital since last month and Claxton is caring for the two children during this period.