Man found flushing heroin down toilet

Gardaí searching a house for drugs found a man on a phone flushing heroin down the toilet.

Detective Garda Peter Kennedy testified yesterday at Cork District Court he retrieved two bags of heroin from the toilet and said the phone being used by the accused contained incriminating texts.

Keith Walsh’s texts included several references to being available in town at various different times “to score”, which was taken to be a reference to getting a heroin deal.

The detective said one of the texts referred to someone getting DVDs. He said a DVD was a common street term for a heroin deal.

Defence solicitor, Eddie Burke, argued DVD meant DVD and nothing more.

However, Judge Olann Kelleher said that he had no doubt from all the evidence in the case that Walsh was trying to flush heroin deals down the toilet when gardaí arrived to conduct a search and that the texts were supportive of the view he was involved in drug-dealing.

Detective Garda Kennedy put it to Walsh, aged 34, that he was using the house at Ardcullen, Hollyhill, Cork, on May 3, 2012, “to bag up gear,” and that he was using other houses to prepare deals of the drug.

Walsh denied that on the day of the search. When the detective asked him who owned the heroin floating the toilet, Walsh replied, “Couldn’t tell you officer boy.”

Judge Kelleher fined Walsh €500 for having the drug for his own use.

He sentenced him to five months on the charge of having it for sale or supply. Judge Kelleher agreed with the inspector that it was good detective work.