Alcoholic father jailed for heroin dealing

An alcoholic father of one who ran up drug debts to feed his cocaine habit has been given a ten year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possession of an estimated €200,000 of heroin.

Greg McCauley (aged 33), was working for the dealers to reduce his debts when he was caught by gardaí.

McCauley, with an address at Ballybough House, Ballybough, pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs for sale or supply at his former home in Edenmore Avenue, Raheny on March 3, 2006.

Judge Patrica Ryan imposed a sentence of ten years imprisonment with the final three years suspended.

Detective Garda Eric Canny told Mr Shane Costelloe BL, prosecuting, that during a surveillance operationmounted outside McCauley’s house on foot of confidential information, he was observed approach a car with a bag and then walk away from it without the bag.

Det. Gda Canny said gardaí stopped the car which had three occupants a short distance away and discovered heroin inside the bag with a approximate street value of €200,000.

McCauley was arrested one month later after a further period of surveillance and charged with the offence. He had 12 previous convictions including two minor drug offences.

Defence counsel, Mr Paul Burns SC (with Mr William Galvin BL), said McCauley had pleaded guilty at an early stage and came from a decent family, none of whom had ever been in trouble with the gardaí.

He said McCauley had began experimenting with illicit substances in his late teens and after being let go from Irish Glass in 2003 had spent all his redundancy money on cocaine and alcohol. When the money ran out he began running up debts with drug dealers.

Mr Burns said he was told he could reduce his debt by doing some work for the drug dealers. McCauley was under pressure at the time due his father’s terminal illness and the birth of his daughter.