Father jailed for seven years after €760,000 drugs find
A 62-YEAR old Wexford town man has been sentenced to seven years in prison having pleaded guilty to the possession of drugs with a street value of more than €760,000.
Edward McCormack of 20 Bishop’s Park, Wexford, pleaded guilty before Judge Barry Hickson at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court to having cannabis resin in his possession at Ballymurn, Enniscorthy, on November 15, 2011, for the purpose of selling or supplying to another. He also pleaded guilty to the same offence at The Ballagh, Enniscorthy, on November 6, 2013.
Det. Garda Paul Hayes told Prosecuting Counsel, Conor O’Doherty, that in the course of a Garda operation by the Anvil Pub in Ballymurn a van was observed outside the public house overnight. The following morning Garda Stephen Burke arrested the defendant at the scene. He had been dropped off by an Enda Fortune, his son-in-law, a co-accused already dealt with by the court.
When the van was searched, a large quantity of cannabis was found inside. McCormack was caught beside the van and admitted what was inside, stating it was ‘weed’.
Det. Hayes said that in interviews at Enniscorthy Garda Station McCormack admitted that he had a gambling debt.
At a second location in the Ballagh, gardaí found a large numnber of barrels containing cannabis resin. Det. Hayes said the value of the cannabis herb in the van was €527,670, while the cannabis in The Ballagh was valued at €237,928, giving a total value of €764,928.
Det. Hayes told the court that the defendant, an unemployed father of three, has previous convictions.
Senior Defence Counsel, Patrick McCarthy, said his client made a complete admission to gardai. His co-accused, Enda Fortune, McCormack’s son-in-law, had pleaded guilty to the drugs offence outside the pub in Ballymurn, and had received a five-year sentence with the final two years suspended.
Mr. McCarthy told the court that the defendant had left school at the age of 15, is not able to read or write, but still had a good working record. A gambling problem led to him becoming involved in drugs, while his family home had to be sold to pay his debts.
Mr McCarthy said that while the defendant had been out of the jurisdiction in Spain for a time, he had presented himself to the police there. He later told the gardai he was coming back to Wexford and, on arriving home, had gone to his solicitor and then to the garda station. As a result, he has been in custody for that period.
Mr. McCarthy said that both defendants knew what was involved and went into all of this with their eyes open. They knew what they were getting involved in, he said. The defendant had behaved badly and exposed his family to certain risks. Having regard for his age and the support he’s receiving from his family, he would ask the court for a substantial derogation from the ten-year maximum sentence.
‘ This can only be described as a major drugs seizure,’ said Judge Hickson. ‘Mr. Fortune and his father-in-law. McCormack pleaded guilty to two counts which in itself brings a mandatory ten-year sentence.’
The judge said he accepted this was a single drugs seizure, despite the two different locations. Unlike his son-in-law, McCormack was a significant player in this and was the senior organiser. He had his son-in-law work with him and this must be reflected in the decision of the court. Observing that the defendant has a serious gambling problem that destroyed his life, Judge Hickson said he must take into account the fact that McCormack had a previous court conviction for a drugs offence and had received a twelvemonth prison sentence.
The judge sentenced the defendant to seven years in prison on each offence, to run consecutively, with the sentence back dated to August 29. He was also ordered to avail of all the addiction services while in prison.