Truck driver jailed after €16m drug find

A truck driver found in possession of cocaine and cannabis worth almost €16m was jailed for five years today.

Julian Gilloughley, aged 28, from Cloghran, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to the possession with intent to supply of almost a ton of cannabis and 78 blocks of cocaine.

Gardaí stopped a lorry with two men in it driving around Lusk, Co Dublin on April 19, 2003.

An investigation of the lorry revealed 36 bales of cannabis weighing 978kg and valued at €12.42m, hidden under the floor of the vehicle.

The cocaine, worth €3.08m was found at the home of the driver, a co-accused.

It is believed the two men had travelled from France to Spain, where they had collected the drugs before travelling back to Dublin.

Judge Desmond Hogan said he was satisfied Gilloughley had been a lesser player in the overall scheme.

He told Dublin’s Circuit Criminal Court that he believed the accused had become involved because of a “real and present fear of violence being perpetrated against himself and his family”.

Judge Hogan added: “He was not by any means the main man, the drugs were not his. He did not contribute to their purchase nor did he expect to make a profit from the sale of the drugs.”

The court heard that Gilloughley had co-operated immediately with the investigation and had pleaded guilty at an early stage.

Judge Hogan said he had no previous convictions and expressed confidence that his family would support him.

Gilloughley, who has already been in custody for nine months, was sentenced to five years with two suspended.