cannabis haul Man claims he only had €3k drug package for hours before garda raid

A DRUG user caught with nearly €3,000 worth of cannabis in his bedroom was told to hold on to it by dealers and had it for only "a matter of hours" when his home was raided, a court heard.

Michael Doyle (28) had a drug debt and had been told to hold the package "or face the consequences".

Judge Deirdre Gearty gave him a two-month suspended sentence and fined him €150.

Doyle pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply at his home at Cherry Orchard Court, Ballyfermot.

Dublin District Court heard gardaí carried out a search on November 5, 2018 and found a quantity of cannabis lying on Doyle's bed.

He said it was his bedroom and nobody else had access to it, a garda sergeant said. The drugs were worth €2,934.

The accused made admissions on arrest.

Doyle had started smoking cannabis at the age of 13 before moving on to harder drugs, his solicitor said.

The accused's life "spiralled out of control" when his father died some years ago.

At the time of the offence, he had built up a drug debt of around €900 for his own cannabis and cocaine use and was told to "hold on to the package of drugs or face the consequences", his defence said.

He was told to hold on to the package "for a few hours".

"He only had it for a matter of hours when he was caught," his defence said.

The accused was surrounded by people involved in drugs and they were "more than aware that he has drug issues", so he was very vulnerable.

Doyle had now turned his life around, was working with a manufacturing company and was classed as an essential worker in the pandemic, his defence said.

He was engaged and hoped to marry his fiancee soon.

The solicitor asked Judge Gearty not to send the accused to prison.

The judge suspended the two-month sentence for a year.

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