Suspended sentence for grandfather who allowed drone to be used for prison drug delivery

By Fiona Ferguson

A grandfather who came under duress to allow his drone to be used for an attempted prison drug delivery and stored over €180,000 of criminal proceeds has avoided a jail term.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Karl Widdess (45) has since rehabilitated himself and has become a role model for younger people in a social enterprise engaging with those in addiction recovery.

Widdess of Mountbellow Way, Lucan, pleaded guilty to money laundering at his home and possession of drugs at Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, on dates in February 2024. He has 62 previous convictions.

Passing sentence, Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin noted Widdess said he did not know the drug involved was heroin but knew it was an attempt to deliver drugs. She said he was under duress to supply the drone and hide the money.

Judge Ní Chúlacháin said Widdess had borrowed money to pay for a family funeral and got sucked back into a life of drugs and debt. She said he became involved through vulnerability and duress.

She noted he had been offence free for several years prior to this offence but had got “sucked back in.”

The judge said he did not organise either scheme and his culpability was at the low end.

She said the drugs involved were at the low end, but noted their value within the prison would be greater. She said the cash stored in his house was substantial.

“Drugs are a scourge on society and those who profit would not be able to function without people like you,” she told Widdess. She noted his guilty plea, history of chronic addiction and difficult background.

Judge Ní Chúlacháin noted the “impressive evidence” given in relation to Widdess’s voluntary engagement with Liberty Recycling Training and Development. She noted this along with his strong family support were likely to reduce his likelihood of reoffending.

Judge Ní Chúlacháin imposed a sentence of three years and in light of the positive reports before her and to incentivise continued rehabilitation, she suspended the sentence in full.

Garda Tadhg McCarthy told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that gardai were notified on February 12, 2024 that there was a drone flying over Cloverhill prison. The drone tracking system within the prison was able to tell where the drone had originated from

Gardai located the drone on waste land adjacent to the prison and intercepted two males, one of whom was Widdess nearby. His co-accused was in possession of the drone controller. A string was attached to the drone tied to a copper pipe containing 5 deals of heroin worth €587.

The SD card in the drone showed evidence it belonged to Widdess and a warrant was obtained to search his home. Gardai executed the warrants on February 23, 2024.

In a search of crawl space in  Widdess’s bedroom gardai recovered €181,995 euro and £400 sterling wrapped with duct tape and packed into socks and an exercise ball.

He told gardai he had been asked for the use of his drone. He felt he could not give gardai the full details. He said he also been asked to hide cash.

Gda McCarthy agreed Ronan Kennedy SC, defending, that Widdess was fully co-operative in relation to his own role from the time he was arrested and said he was under pressure but could not elaborate

Mr Kennedy said Widdess was very low in the pecking order and had a difficult family background.

He said Widdess had been a chronic heroin addict for much of his life but since this offence he has been working with Liberty Recycling which has introduced stability and purpose into his life.

He said Widdess is married, lives with his family and has a close relationship with his young grandchild.

Tom Sheridan, manager of liberty recycling training and development, which is a social enterprise involved in textile recycling, told the court they invite people in recovery from addiction issues to come in for work experience and to rehabilitate

Mr Sheridan told the court Widdess approached them and was honest with them from the outset. He said Widdess has completed his training and engaged with every aspect of the program. He said the accused has become a role model for younger people and said Widdess has made huge progress over the last 15 months

Mr Kennedy said Widdess had borrowed money to pay for a family funeral and was then prevailed upon to become involved in the offending. He said his client wished he could turn back time.

He said Widdess is engaging with structured supports in the hope he won’t find himself before the court again. He said the gardai have confirmed that he is not coming to further garda attention.