Teen is first person charged with smuggling drugs into prison

A Dublin teenager has made legal history by becoming the first person in the State to be charged with a newly-designated offence for smuggling drugs into a prison.

The teenage boy (aged 17) has already been charged at the Dublin Children’s Court under section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act with possession of a 58 diazepam tablets with intention of sale or supply to another, at Royal Canal Bank, in Phibsborough, Dublin, on August 23 last.

Diazepam, a controlled drug, is a sedative used to relieve anxiety and relax muscles.

The prosecution today applied to have that charge struck out.

Instead a new charge was brought against him for “possession of the diazepam tablets in the vicinity of a prison namely St Patrick’s Institution with intent to commit an offence contrary to section 15 C of the Misuse of Drugs Act.”

The south Dublin teen, who was supported in court by his mother, made no reply to the charge after he was cautioned, said arresting garda detective Niamh Coates.

The teen was remanded on bail for four weeks to allow him time to take legal advice and to consider his plea.

The alleged offence relates to attempted smuggling of drugs into St Patrick’s Institution, a detention centre for males aged 16 to 21 years.

The 2006 Criminal Justice Act brought into force the new offence of smuggling, or attempting to smuggle, drugs into a prison.

It amended the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act bringing in a new section stating that a person guilty of supply of controlled drugs into a prison or place of detention could face a possible fine of up to €3,000 or a sentence of up to 12 months if the case is dealt with at District Court level.

A person can be charged under the new law if he or she is arrested for conveying a controlled drug into a prison or children’s detention centre, for placing it there with the intention that it would come into the possession of an inmate or for throwing an illegal drug into a prison or detention centre.