10-year sentence for cocaine carrier Kearns

A man who was caught transporting cocaine valued €280,000 and holding €56,500 worth of amphetamines has been jailed for 10 years by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Andrew Kearns (aged 28) of Eaton Way, Rathcoole, a father of a young girl, pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs for sale or supply at his apartment and at Belgard Green, Tallaght on March 12, 2005.

Judge Delahunt said that while Kearns made some admissions he did not materially assist the gardaí and at one stage gave them the wrong address.

She accepted evidence that his role in the operation was not at the highest end of the scale but said that he was caught with a significant amount of drugs.

Judge Delahunt acknowledged that he had a drug debt and he had carried the drugs under a level of duress. She added that this was supported by the fact that his apartment was subsequently ransacked by the owner of the second consignment.

Detective garda Maurice Ward told Ms Anne-Marie Lawlor, BL, prosecuting, that gardaí had the house in Tallaght under surveillance following confidential information.

Kearns drove into the driveway and a subsequent search of the car revealed four kilos of cocaine hidden in the footwell of the front passenger seat.

Kearns admitted to knowing he was carrying cocaine and said he had collected it earlier to deliver it to the address. He said he was doing it to help pay off a €3,000 drug debt.

He initially did not give the gardaí his correct home address but after some time he admitted to living in an apartment in Rathcoole were 3.8 kilos of amphetamines were found hidden in a golf bag.

Det garda Walsh said this apartment was ransacked two days after Kearns’ arrest which led gardai to believe that the owner of the drugs had gained access to reclaim them.

He agreed with Mr Patrick Gageby SC (with Mr Kieran Kelly BL), defending, that Walsh had a cocaine habit at the time but added that he didn’t believe it to be a serious addiction.

Mr Gageby told Judge Delahunt that Kearns sought treatment for his drug habit and he was now totally drug free.