Dublin postman caught with cannabis worth €10k jailed after stealing phones from mail

In July 2021, Judge Melanie Greally, imposed a two-year suspended prison sentence on Killian Kinsella for an offence of possession of €10,000 of cannabis for sale or supply.

The hearing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that Kinsella, of Elm Castle Court, Kilnamanagh, Dublin 24, was in a taxi driving through Lucan and ducked down when the taxi passed gardaí.

The garda noticed this and followed the taxi until it stopped at nearby shops on Griffeen Glen Drive and noticed a smell of cannabis and spoke to Kinsella who seemed nervous and agitated.

After a search of the car the officer found a cardboard box in the back footwell with cannabis, later valued at €10,000.

The court heard Kinsella had no previous convictions, had not come to garda attention and entered an early guilty plea.

Sarah Jane O'Callaghan BL, defending, told the court Kinsella had amassed a drug debt due to a cocaine addiction which had spiralled out of control.

She told the court that he was told to move the drugs to reduce the debt and he was not selling or dealing drugs himself.

She said prior to getting involved in drug use, Kinsella was an extremely talented football player who had a cap for Ireland. She said he was now working.

The court heard today that three months after he received the suspended sentence, Kinsella was caught stealing packages from a post office sorting office where he was employed.

He was prosecuted at the Dublin District Court and pleaded guilty to eight charges of interfering with the post between October 21 and 25, 2021 and one charge of possession of stolen property.

Garda Tom Balfe told the court that on foot of a complaint from An Post about phones going missing, gardaí observed Kinsella leaving the post office and getting into the passenger seat of a car.

Gardaí stopped and searched the car and found some phones that had been taken from the post.

Ms O'Callaghan said Kinsella knows that he broke the trust of his employers.

He was put under pressure to pay for the drugs seized in the original conviction, she said.

Kinsella lost his job with An Post immediately, the court heard.

Judge Greally said it was very disappointing to see that Kinsella was engaging in crime within three months of receiving a suspended sentence.

She noted the strong family support and the fact that Kinsella has some potential to reform.

She jailed him for nine months of the two-year period of suspension.