Irishmen jailed for 34 years after massive drugs haul intercepted in Britain

TWO Sligo men have been jailed for a total of 34 years in England in relation to a massive haul of heroin and cannabis.

Gardaí suspect the drug consignment — comprising 25kg of heroin and 600kg of cannabis resin — was bound for the Irish market.

The drugs were discovered in a hidden compartment in a horse box by British customs officers at Dover Docks last March.

The British Revenue and Customs Service said the drugs were estimated to have a street value of £2.6 million (€3.8m).

Robert McGowan, aged 38, with an address at Carlton Estate, Sligo, received 18 years in prison and Vincent Gerard Sweeney, aged 44, of Ballitavlin, Sligo, was given 16 years.

The Sligo men, who were not known by gardaí as major drug traffickers, were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday.

Senior garda sources yesterday said the heroin would have had a potential Irish street value of €5m, while the cannabis resin would have been worth €4.2m.

The haul would have been one of the biggest consignments of either heroin or cannabis seized in this country if the drugs had got through to Ireland.

The court heart that on March 28 last an Irish-registered horse box vehicle driven by Sweeney and McGowan was intercepted by customs officers at the Eastern Docks in Dover.

A search between the grooming compartment and the horse compartment discovered 25kg of heroin and 600kg of cannabis resin.

In passing sentence, Judge Adele Williams said: “Those who import heroin into this country deserve no mercy. Cannabis causes considerable harm to people’s lives and people who import these drugs play with high stakes.” She said McGowan was “by no means the courier — he is part of the organisation”. Referring to Sweeney, she said he was “a weak man who joined the enterprise due to his expertise with horses”.

A senior garda source last night welcomed the hefty sentence and said it was “most likely” the drugs would have been brought into Ireland.

Chris Ballard of HM Revenue & Customs said: “&The sentences handed down by the court will act as a deterrent to those involved in drug trafficking and clearly shows crime doesn’t pay.”