Tallaght man jailed after being caught in cannabis grow house

By Isabel Hayes

A boat yard worker who was caught trying to climb out the bathroom window of a “sophisticated” cannabis grow house has been jailed for six years.

Niall Smith (51) claimed to gardai he had simply popped into the house at Killinarden Heights, Tallaght, for a “cup of tea” with a friend and didn’t notice the smell of drugs in the home, which had been converted upstairs to grow cannabis in all three bedrooms.

A total of €68,149 worth of cannabis in the form of both plants and seeds were seized by gardai after they prevented Smith from jumping out of the upstairs window in May 2023.

Smith told gardai he had gone upstairs to use the bathroom while having tea with his friend – the co-accused in the case – and that he didn’t notice the smell of any drugs, which gardai described in court as “overpowering”. He said he tried to jump out the window when gardaí arrived “due to panic”, the court heard.

Along with three bedrooms being used to grow plants, gardai found gardening paraphernalia and other equipment. They found about €2155 cash in Smith’s car and more cash when they searched his home, along with a drug ticklist.

The co-accused was the owner of the house and he had bypassed the electricity meter so the ESB would not be alerted to the high levels of electricity required to cultivate the cannabis, Judge Jonathan Dunphy was told. It was a “sophisticated system”, the court heard.

Smith’s accomplice was handed a five-year sentence with the final 12 month suspended after he entered an early guilty plea.

Smith, of Limekiln Road, Greenhills, pleaded guilty to one count of cultivating cannabis at the Killinarden address on May 3, 2023 on the first day of his trial last week. A more serious charge of possessing it for sale or supply under section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act was dropped by the prosecution.

Smith has five previous convictions, including one for cultivating cannabis in 2013 at a house in Co. Wexford. He was given a seven-year suspended sentence for this offence, which expired in February 2022, one year before this offending occurred.

Sentencing him, Judge Dunphy said the scale and sophistication of the growing system were aggravating as well as the value of the drugs found in the house.

He also noted the role Smith played in the operation. He said Smith was an experienced cultivator based on his previous conviction for cultivation and someone who was “clearly trusted” in his role.

The judge said there was “zero evidence” before the court that Smith was vulnerable or put under pressure by others.

Referring to Smith’s previous conviction, he said this pointed to the fact that he “knew what he was getting into” and the potential consequences of becoming involved.

He set a headline sentence of nine years, which he reduced to seven years having considered the mitigation.

Judge Dunphy said there was a “very strong argument” that the court would be justified in refusing to suspend any portion of the sentence, as Smith had previously received the benefit of a fully suspended sentence and was back before the court again.

However, the judge said he would suspend the final 12 months of the sentence for two years to incentivise Smith’s rehabilitation and to facilitate his re-integration into society upon his release from custody.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, said his client suffered a stroke in November 2022 and has some health issues. He previously worked as a taxi driver and more recently as a boat yard worker, the court heard.

A number of testimonials were handed into court describing Smith as a loving father and a father figure to his sister’s children.

Defence counsel noted that Smith’s co-accused was jailed for four years for a more serious section 15a charge, although he conceded this man did not have a similar previous conviction like Smith does.

He said unlike many who come before the court on similar charges, Smith has “made a significant contribution to the lives of other people” and he asked the court to take this into account.