Man jailed for role in cannabis jellies operation

By Declan Brennan

A man caught in the middle of a cannabis jellies manufacturing operation has been jailed for three and a half years.

Gardai carrying out a raid on a Dublin flat on November 11, 2022 found David Thomas (42) and two other men with 1,500 cannabis jellies on a kitchen table being dried by a fan.

There were moulds for the jellies and the dye used to colour the end product, Detective Garda Kieran Maloney told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Gardaí also found a cooking pot in the kitchen with cannabis in it and a document outlining the melting temperature of various different types of drugs.

A large quantity of jellies which were dried and sealed in a vacuum pack was also found. The total estimated street value of all the cannabis jellies was approximately €43,000,  Dt Gda Maloney told Shaun Smyth BL, prosecuting.

The garda witness said that a downstairs bedroom had been converted into a cannabis grow-house, including insulated walls and doors, spraying systems for the plants and various other apparatuses used in growing cannabis. An upstairs hot press was being used as a “nursery” for younger cannabis plants.

The cannabis plants in total had an estimated street value of around €7,000, the court heard.

 Thomas of Glenties Drive, Finglas, Dublin 11 pleaded guilty to unlawful possession for sale or supply of THC contained in cannabis jellies and to unlawful cultivation of cannabis at Prospect Hill, Finglas.

 His 74 previous convictions include drug dealing, assault, hit and run, car theft and cultivation of cannabis. He has been in custody for most of the period since his arrest for this offence and his most recent conviction is for the use of a mobile phone from prison.

 The court heard that a co-accused had a greater role in the operation and was sentenced in 2024.

 Dt Gda Maloney agreed with James Dwyer SC, defending, that this co-accused was the target of the garda investigation.  He agreed that this man was also charged with possession of a submachine gun and ammunition found hidden elsewhere in the apartment complex.

 Mr Dwyer said that at the time of the offending his client was highly addicted to crack cocaine. He said he has been sober a number of years.

 Counsel handed in a letter from Merchants Quay Ireland, an addiction support charity, which stated that Thomas was deemed suitable for counselling. An uncle of the defendant told the court, in a letter, that his nephew was a hard working and polite man when sober and that he was willing to employ him when he got out of prison.

 Mr Dwyer told Judge Elma Sheahan that the case went all the way to Supreme Court after a successful application to have some charges dismissed was appealed by the State. He said the Supreme Court overturned the dismissal decision.

 Judge Sheahan said she was taking all the aggravating and mitigating factors into consideration and imposed a sentence of four years. She suspended the final six months on condition that Thomas keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

 The third man arrested during the raid is still before the courts.