Jailed burglar caught with more than €1,600 worth of drugs in Dublin prison

Inmate Shane Green (31) was forced to hold the drugs, including heroin, while serving a sentence at Dublin’s Wheatfield Prison, Blanchardstown District Court heard.

Judge David McHugh sentenced him to four months in prison.

Green, of Knockfree Cottages, Fairhill, Cork, pleaded guilty to possession of drugs with intent to sell or supply.

The court heard the incident happened on November 11, 2020 when Green was selected to take a random urine test.

A number of wraps fell from his shorts and was found to be heroin and another drug worth a total of €1,666.

The accused was co-operative and made full admissions, his solicitor Simon Fleming said.

He said in prison people could be forced to hold on to substances.

Mr Fleming said the gardaí accepted that people could be under pressure to hold drugs in prison.

He said he was not saying Green as a Corkman was a fish out of water, but there was a “different power structure” in the jail and he was not at the top of the food chain.

He had since been punished within the prison system, losing privileges for 40 days.

Green had been using drugs at the time but was now making strides in getting drug-free.