Welder busted for cash crime after car stopped for insurance check

By Eoin Ryan

A welder was caught with €26,000 criminal cash in a money laundering scheme after gardai pulled his car over to check it for insurance, a court has heard.

Garda Diarmuid Murphy told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that on March 15, 2020 he was patrolling the Finglas area when his scanner identified a car as uninsured on the Ratoath Rd.

The car was driven by Gavin Jordan (49) and it later transpired the scan was a false detection as Jordan had the car insured at the time, the court heard.

Gda Murphy said the car was stopped and when the driver pulled down the window he immediately smelled cannabis.

Gardai searched the the car and the driver for drugs and found an envelope containing €26,000 in cash was in Jordan’s trousers pocket.

The court heard Jordan was acting as a courier in a money laundering scheme to assist his son who had a drug debt placed on him after Gardai seized drugs from his son’s home.

Jordan told Gardai he thought there was €15,000 in the envelope when questioned in a Garda interview.

Two withdrawals were made from Jordan’s account on the 9th April and 28th April 2020 totalling €20,000. Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, told the court this was to pay off the debt which was put on him after the Gardai seized the cash in the money laundering scheme.

Jordan (49) of Finglas, Kippure Park, Dublin pleaded guilty to possession of the proceeds of crime on the Ratoath rd., on March 15, 2020.

An employer reference handed into court stated that Jordan works full time as a welder five or six days a week at the same job for 30 years. He was described as a model worker who is “extremely honest and reliable”.

The court heard the defendant has an active role in caring for his elderly mother.

Judge Melanie Greally said this was a “one off significant lapse of judgement” and it is highly unlikely he will re-offend.

Taking this mitigation into account she sentenced Jordan to 18 months suspended prison sentence.