Man caught with €215k of cannabis jailed for 6 years

GARDAÍ stopped a car near the Jack Lynch tunnel as it arrived in Cork with €215,000 worth of cannabis in the boot and yesterday the man responsible for the shipment was jailed for six years.

Judge Patrick J Moran imposed an eight-year sentence on Ian Hanlon, aged 40, of 22 Avondale, Passage West, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, but suspended the last two years.

Detective Sergeant Lar O’Brien said the 18kg of cannabis was discovered by drugs squad gardaí when they searched the car on the South Ring Road, Mahon, on November 8, 2010.

Judge Moran said: “Mr Hanlon, you were involved in a very serious offence bringing drugs into this city.”

Hanlon claimed the incident had been his first involvement with drugs and that the supplier in Dublin was not well known to him.

“It would surprise me that almost a stranger would entrust you with such a value of drugs unless he knew you well. I look on it as a serious offence. You were carrying out courier activity bringing in a considerable amount of drugs. Accepting that this is your only involvement with drugs, I do not have to apply the rigours of Section 15A (the section of the Misuse of Drugs Act requiring a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years).

“However, having said that, I do consider it a very serious breach of the law which was going to help a lot of people to get very rich and do a lot of damage to the consumers of the drugs,” the judge said.

Jayne Crowley, aged 32, of 66 Maulbawn, Passage West, Co Cork, who was Hanlon’s partner, was described as not organising or instigating the drugs crime but being a willing accomplice.

Judge Moran imposed a suspended six-year sentence on her on the same charge of having cannabis for sale or supply when its street value exceeded €13,000.