Louth bricklayer ‘cog in the machine’ had €1.4 of drugs

A Louth bricklayer described as ‘nothing more than a cog in the machine’ will be sentenced later for possessing cannabis and prescription drugs worth €1.38 million.

Garnet Orange SC, defending, said Eoin Morrow (38) ‘ found himself under obligations to others’ as his debts mounted due to drug and gambling problems.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that gardaí with confidential information set up a surveillance operation on a Scania truck and intercepted this vehicle when it met up with Morrow’s Volkswagen Jetta.

Gardaí observed truck driver John Needham (31) and Morrow remove boxes from this vehicle onto a trolley bound for a storage unit in nearby Newcourt Business Park.

Detective Garda Patrick Hearne revealed that he and colleagues discovered four large cardboard boxes of cannabis resin and 29 boxes of Zopiclone prescription tablets during a subsequent search of the truck and building.

The garda told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, that the 96kg of cannabis was worth €580,200 and the 400,000 Zopiclone pills were valued at €800,000.

Morrow, of Point Road, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis resin and supplying a prescription-only drug at St Margaret’s Road, Finglas, Dublin on July 25, 2017.

He has 15 previous convictions, including four years for assault and aggravated burglary and a two-year sentence for thefts, all in 2010.

The court heard he took a bench warrant on the drugs matter and fled to Europe, but eventually returned and handed himself in to gardaí.

Needham, of Carna, Suncroft, Kildare, pleaded guilty to the same drugs offences and was sentenced to eight years for his role earlier this month.

Det Gda Hearne told Ms Duffy that Morrow rented the business park unit in his own name in June 2016 and told the owner it would be used for storage.

The detective agreed with Mr Orange that Morrow had done nothing to conceal himself by driving in his own car and put- ting his name to documentation.

He further agreed Morrow was “nothing more than a cog in the machine”. He accepted that Morrow’s drug and gambling problems led to his being indebted to “sinister elements in the northeastern corner of the island”.

The detective also accepted that Morrow fled the jurisdiction due to threats made by parties about the lost drugs.

Mr Orange told Judge Melanie Greally that people who benefit in the drugs trade don’t need to handle the substances ‘ because other people are susceptible to threats and inducements and will do the dirty work for them’.

Mr Orange said his client was a family man who found himself with mounting debts after the economy slowed down. Counsel said Morrow knew he must pay a price for participating in the operation.

Judge Greally put the matter back for a urinalysis report to see if Morrow was now drug-free. She remanded him in continuing custody until November.