‘Stupid’ drug dealer gets 5 years
The accused had never come to the attention of gardaí before this bizarre incident at Blarney Woollen Mills, Cork. Yesterday, this and another drugs crime resulted in him getting five years in jail.
It all started when Shane O’Mahony of 15 The Sycamores, Classis Lake, Ovens, Co Cork, drove his grey Volkswagen Golf into the car park at Blarney Woollen Mills. Garda Denis O’Sullivan saw the car parked there later that afternoon and noticed it had no tax and insurance — he decided to have the car seized.
O’Mahony, aged 23, arrived on the scene and told Garda O’Sullivan he wanted to get a Manchester United rucksack from the boot of the car. O’Mahony grabbed the bag and ran away. Garda O’Sullivan chased the man and caught him. The bag had €9,000 worth of cocaine and ecstasy.
Garda O’Sullivan said there had been no drugs suspicion and the car would not have been searched for drugs had it been driven away and impounded.
Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin reiterated: “He goes to the car; wants to retrieve something; he gets the drugs and runs. On the scale would you give him nought out of 10? It is extraordinary.”
Defence barrister Ray Boland said: “Obviously, it was a stupid offence. It would possibly not have been detected.”
Judge Ó Donnabháin said: “We would not be putting him in the A Class anyway. It was truly extraordinary. He was, I have to say, stupid.”
Things got even worse for O’Mahony. The young man with no previous convictions put himself very much on the radar with the drugs squad from that day. A month later, following surveillance, Det Sgt Lar O’Brien and his colleagues arrived at the defendant’s home in Ovens. The accused was asleep in bed at 3pm. The gardaí arrived into the room and asked if there were drugs in the house. O’Mahony admitted there was and pointed out the €59,000 worth of cocaine he had under the bed.
The judge sentenced him to eight years with the last three suspended.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
