Man jailed for importing €180,000 of cannabis

By Eimear Dodd

A man who paid import duties for over €180,000 of cannabis refused to accept them during a controlled delivery by Gardaí, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has been told.

Duane Costello (38) pleaded guilty to the importation of cannabis on January 6, 2025 at his address in Loughlinstown Wood, Loughlinstown Co. Dublin.

He was handed a sentence of three years and nine months.

Garda Sean Savage told Marc Murphy BL, prosecuting, that a package containing over 9kg of cannabis, valued at €184,000, was intercepted by customs officers on January 6, 2025.

Two days later, an attempt was made to carry out a controlled delivery of the package, however, Costello refused to take the package when he opened the front door.

Later that month, gardai obtained a court order in relation to Revolut accounts in Costello’s name. The court was told there was concern that payments relating to the package had been made from a Revolut account.

On February 1, Costello’s home was searched and items including phones, a passport, scales and a Revolut card in another person’s name were found.

Costello was interviewed six times by gardai. He initially denied any knowledge, but later admitted his involvement in the importation of the cannabis by paying the import duties from his Revolut account.

Gda Savage told Judge Martin Nolan that his view is that Costello was importing the drugs on behalf of another and had an awareness of what was in the package.

Costello has 44 previous convictions, including some drugs offences, all at the District Court.

Gda Savage agreed with Maurice Coffey SC, defending, that his client didn’t accept the controlled delivery as he panicked.

It was further accepted that Costello had a drugs debt in the region of €6,500 and that he was threatened and agreed to take possession of packages.

The garda also agreed that Costello didn’t know exactly what was in the packages, but knew the contents were drugs and illegal.

He also accepted that Costello said there were threats to set his house on fire and to shoot at it.

It was further agreed that the State’s case relates to Costello paying the import duties in order to facilitate the delivery of the drugs.

Mr Coffey submitted to the court that this case is “unusual” as his client panicked, and refused to take delivery of the drugs.

He suggested his client was acting under a degree of pressure, adding that “recent tragic events” show that this “pressure is real and the threats can be carried out and have devastating consequences”.

Costello has a longstanding drug addiction, but is now drug free and working.

Letters were handed to the court from his employer and his partner.

Judge Nolan noted that Costello was importing the drugs for a third party in exchange for some type of reward.

He said the court’s view was that Costello is “at the middle to lower end of this drug dealing enterprise” and had been coerced and “probably threatened”.

The judge said Costello’s early guilty plea allowed the court to depart from the presumptive mandatory minimum sentence of ten years.

He said there was good mitigation and imposed a sentence of three years and nine months.