Man avoids jail term for heroin possession

By Eimear Dodd and Niamh O’Donoghue

A man found in possession of over €15,000 of heroin has been handed a suspended prison sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Daniel O’Connell (42) told gardaí that it was the “first and clearly the last time” he would be holding drugs.

O’Connell of Cherry Orchard Park, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 pleaded guilty to possession of heroin for sale or supply on March 8, 2022 at the same location.

Judge Orla Crowe handed down a two-year suspended sentence noting that O’Connell had turned his life around.

The court heard that gardaí carried out a search of the property on the day in question.

They found a white plastic bag in an upstairs bedroom which was later found to contain 113g of diamorphine, with an estimated value of €15,904.

O’Connell was not present during the search, but later contacted gardaí saying he wished to speak to them about the drugs found at his home address.

He attended the garda station voluntarily the next day and after caution said he was holding the drugs on behalf of a third party to reduce a drug debt of €5,000.

He told gardaí that he believed the drugs to be heroin and said he had been holding them for two weeks.

During interview, O’Connell said he built up a debt due to a cocaine addiction and was expecting to get €150 to €200 off his total debt. He took full responsibility for the drugs and said he didn’t want to “drag” his family into it.

The court heard O’Connell didn’t know the weight of the drugs and was surprised when he was told their estimated value.

O’Connell has 19 previous convictions, including three for drugs offences.

A local garda agreed with defence counsel that most of O’Connell’s previous convictions are for road traffic matters with the drugs offences dating back a number of years.

It was further accepted that his early guilty plea was of assistance to the prosecution and O’Connell was pro-active in contacting gardaí following the search.

The gardaí also agreed that O’Connell said he was being threatened and said it was the “first and clearly the last time” he would be holding drugs.

Defence counsel noted that her client is the “author of his own misfortune”, but was being threatened at the time.

She said O’Connell is a father-of-two and members of his family were in court to support him.

Her client developed addiction issues as a teenager and relapsed around the time of this offence, building up a drug debt. He has since taken steps towards rehabilitation and has engaged with addiction treatment services. Urine analysis was handed to the court.

A number of testimonials were also handed in, some of which outlined that O’Connell is involved in voluntary work with local community groups.

He has some work history and a job offer, having completed a programme of upskilling.

Judge Crowe noted O’Connell’s previous convictions and that a “considerable amount” of heroin was found.

The judge imposed two-year sentence but suspended it in its entirety for a period of three years. She also requested that he receive a further 12 months supervision and engage in aftercare support.

Judge Crowe said he had turned his life around and engaged with services. A probation report had put him at a moderate risk of reoffending.

“This is a man who had a long period of no offending,” she said, noting that his last offence was committed in 2014.