Several dealers jailed in recent months

SEVERAL significant heroin dealers have been jailed in recent months.

Declan Harris, 50, who was described in court as a professional heroin dealer, was jailed in April for nine years.

Handing down the sentence, Judge Seán O Donnabháin said Harris’s “commitment to drug-dealing was total”.

The court heard as a result of confidential intelligence, gardaí conducted a search of the flat where he was living and found 22 deals of heroin and 23 deals of crack cocaine. While the total value of the drugs seized was a little over €1,300, Harris had previous convictions for similar offences.

In February, he was given a seven-year sentence for what was at the time the largest heroin seizure in the city.

In May, John Paul Carey, aged 22, of 9 Brooklodge, Glanmire, Co Cork, received a five-year sentence after being convicted of having €49,000 worth of heroin at his home in Glanmire.

He enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and holidayed in Los Angeles. He was described in court as “a fully committed dealer” who despite his young age, was well up the supply chain.

Judge Seán O Donnabháin said he found it exceptional that Carey was involved in the drug trade so high up at such a young age. He imposed a 10-year sentence on him and suspended the second half of the sentence.

Earlier this month, Keith Heaphy, 22, from 59 Kerryhall Road, Fair Hill, Cork, was jailed for four years after being caught with almost €3,000 worth of heroin for sale in Cork city.

Heaphy was found in possession of the drug at Spriggs Road on December 30. He pleaded guilty to the offence.

The defendant’s father, John Heaphy, who is serving a prison sentence for a different offence of dealing drugs, blamed the prison service for the fact that his son developed a heroin problem.

A few days later, Michael O’Callaghan, 40, and originally from Farranree, was jailed for three years after he confessed to dealing about €1,000 of heroin at Highfield West off College Road, Cork, when he was living there on September 16, 2007.

He told the court at the sentencing hearing that he has become a born-again Christian while in prison.

Around the same time, a Killarney man who was caught dealing heroin in Cork was jailed for five years.

Following the undercover Operation Reuben, several people were charged before the courts. The charges relate to alleged incidents involved a range of different drugs, including cannabis, cocaine and heroin, in relatively small amounts under €200, in June to August last year.

Those accused of heroin offences include two women with addresses in Passage West and Cork city.

A man charged with supplying heroin in Douglas has a city address.

Another man from the west of the city is charged with having heroin and cocaine for supply where the street value was allegedly €2,400 for the total quantity of drugs.