North Cork a drug hub as fresh €200k busted
HOMELESS LITHUANIAN, ‘IN IRELAND JUST DAYS’, CHARGED
GARDAÍ in North Cork seized what they believe to be almost €200,000 worth of suspected cannabis herb in Mallow on Monday.
What Gardaí believe is cannabis with an approximate value of €75,000 was seized on Monday morning. Later in the day, as part of their investigation into the seizure, Gardaí from the local Drugs Unit, assisted by the Regional Dog Units, carried out a search at a house in the Quartertown area of Mallow at around 9.30pm.
During the course of the search, officers discovered and seized what they think is a further €125,000 worth of cannabis herb. This, along with the seizure earlier in the day, has been sent to the Garda technical bureau in Dublin for analysis.
A 28-year-old Lithuanian national appeared before a sitting of Mallow
District Court on Wednesday morning charged with two counts of possessing cannabis for sale or supply contrary to Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Meanwhile, this week The Corkman reporter Concubhar Ó Liatháin maps out the major drugs finds across North Cork in just the last two years alone. This reveals multiple seizures by local gardaí and regional support units amounting to hundreds of thousands of euro worth of illicit drugs.
And while these seizures have been made right across the region – in Kanturk, Charleville, Newmarket, and more – Mallow has had more than anywhere else, with the largest find over the past two years – and probably for many years – turning up in Bweeng and coming in at around €700,000.
GARDAÍ in North Cork have seized what they believe to be almost €200,000 worth of suspected cannabis herb in Mallow last Monday.
What Gardaí believe is cannabis herb with an approximate value of €75,000 was seized on Monday morning.
Later in the day as part of their investigation into the seizure, Gardaí from the local Drugs Unit, assisted by the Regional Dog Unit, carried out a search at a house in the Quartertown area of Mallow at around 9.30pm on Monday evening.
During the course of the search officers discovered and seized what they think is a further €125,000 worth of cannabis herb. This, along with the seizure earlier in the day, has been sent to the Garda technical bureau in Dublin for analysis.
A Garda spokesman said they believed the cannabis was destined for sale in the North Cork area.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old Lithuanian national, Tautvydas Morkunas, appeared before a sitting of Mallow District Court on Wednesday morning charged with two counts of possessing cannabis for sale or supply contrary to Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Detective Garda Will Hosford gave evidence of arresting and charging Mr Morkanus, of no fixed abode.
Det Garda Hosford told the court that Mr Morkanus replied “no comment” when the first charge was put to him after caution, while he made no reply to the second charge after he was cautioned.
Defence solicitor David O’Meara said his client was not seeking bail and Inspector Miriam McGuire said that Gardai were seeking a remand in custody for the accused for a week.
Judge Brian Sheridan granted the state’s application and remanded Mr Morkanus in custody to appear again at next Tuesday’s sitting of Mallow District Court.
He also granted Mr Morkanus free legal aid after Mr O’Meara told the court that his client had only been in Ireland for a few days and had no job and had no means of paying for a legal team.