Four year sentence for Louth drug dealer

A Louth drug dealer caught with cocaine has been given a four years prison sentence by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Stephen Rowland (aged 31) with an address at The Square, River Bank, Drogheda pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on March 7, 2006 near Dublin city centre.

Judge Delahunt told Rowland she did not accept he was a minor participant but rather he was a "middle man" and "to be in possession of such an amount of drugs, must have been in a position of trust."

Garda Colm Carolan told prosecuting counsel, Mr Sean Guerin, BL, that he stopped Rowland’s car on Great Denmark Street after receiving information he was involved in drug dealing.

Rowland was arrested and a search revealed 200 grams of cocaine worth €13,800 as well as a digital weighing scales with traces of the drug on it.

Gda Carolan said Rowland claimed he was usually paid €500 - €600 to hold onto the drugs for a few days and that he was not involved in selling them for profit. He said he used the scales found for weighing food.

Defence counsel, Mr Luigi Rea BL, submitted that Nigerian-born Rowland had got his life back on track since the offence and was studying business in university as well as working as a taxi driver to support his wife and child.

Mr Rea asked Judge Delahunt to consider Rowland’s early guilty plea as well as his small number of previous convictions.

Judge Delahunt said she noted Rowland’s attempts to legitimatise himself but as he was not "acting under duress" and was holding the drugs "for purely commercial reasons" she was satisfied that a custodial sentence was warranted. She suspended the final year of sentence on strict conditions.