Tallaght man charged for part in multi million Euro cannabis operation

By Jessica Magee

A Dublin man charged in connection with a multi-million-euro cannabis operation had expensive items in his home that would not normally be seen in the house of someone on the dole, a court had heard.

Edward Farrell (49) will be sentenced next month after he admitted possessing €2.17 million worth of cannabis for sale or supply in a van outside his home at Castlefield Way, Knocklyon and at another address in Mountain Park, Tallaght, on February 20 last year.

Giving evidence on Thursday at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Detective Garda Brian Foran said there were items on display at Farrell’s home “that would not normally be on display” in the house of someone in receipt of social welfare and HAP assistance.

Gardaí found signed Oasis memorabilia, expensive whiskey and various pairs of designer runners in Farrell’s home, the court heard.

They also found 105 kg of cannabis in a white Ford Transit van outside his house and a further 15kg of cannabis in three black bin bags transported by Farrell to another address at Mountain Park in Tallaght on the same day.

In total, Farrell pleaded guilty to possessing €2,173,920 worth of cannabis for sale or supply.

He also admitted possessing a small stun gun, disguised as a pen, in his bedroom wardrobe on the same occasion.

Farrell further pleaded guilty to having various drug paraphernalia including a vacuum-packing machine, vacuum-packed bagging material, several weighing scales and a mobile referred to by gardaí as a “job phone” on which he got encrypted messages with instructions for drug dealing.

Gda Foran said members of the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau had been tipped off that Farrell had a large amount of drugs and was driving a white Ford Transit.

Surveillance was set up outside Farrell’s home, where the transit van was parked outside along with a BMW x 5 and a third car.

Farrell was observed moving three large black bin bags from the van into the BMW and then driving the BMW to Mountain Park, where he was met by co-accused Kevin Murphy.

The two men then moved the three black bin bags into a different BMW 3 series before gardaí arrested them both.

Murphy (41) of Allenton Drive in Tallaght later told gardaí he had been expecting a much smaller package and had been shocked when the three bags containing just under €300,000 of cannabis were delivered to him.

Murphy pleaded guilty to possessing 15kg of cannabis for sale or supply and was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this year.

Passing sentence last month, Judge Martin Nolan accepted that Murphy had been a “mere transporter and holder” of the drugs on the day, that he was not the owner of the cannabis and that his culpability was at the lower end.

Det Foran agreed with Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, that Farrell put his hands up immediately when gardaí arrived and made full and frank admissions during his interview.

“I was doing something I shouldn’t have been doing. I was working off a debt – not my debt – someone else’s debt,” Farrell told gardaí.

Mr Hartnett said Farrell claimed he had inherited the debt from his brother, who had died in tragic circumstances.

Det Foran said while it was true that Farrell’s brother had died, he could not verify whether this accused had inherited his brother’s debt.

Farrell gave gardaí two phones and their PIN codes, including what was referred to as a “job phone”, where he was sent instructions for drug distribution on Signal, an encrypted messaging app.

The court heard that gardaí found a photo on the phone of a handwritten note with a list of customers with the amount of drugs each was to receive.

Farrell told gardaí he was on social welfare and also getting HAP assistance.

Farrell has 32 previous convictions, including three for drug offences and one for possessing ammunition.

He is the father of two children, the court heard.

Mr Hartnett said Farrell had instructed that he was “a little bit under threat” and had been sent a threatening text message on his personal phone, but Det Foran said he was not aware of this message.

Judge Pauline Codd decided to adjourn the case to allow the defence team time to retrieve Farrell’s phone and verify whether he had received a threatening text.

Farrell will be sentenced on July 22.