Dublin man who hid cocaine worth €40,000 in sofa, is jailed

A 26-year-old Clondalkin man who hid cocaine valued at nearly €40,000 in his bedroom at his parents' home has been jailed for ten years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Martin Redmond, of Kilcronin Grove, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to possession of the drug for sale or supply at his home on December 14, 2006.

Garda Kieron O'Neill told Sean Gilane BL, prosecuting, that gardaí went to the address with a search warrant and were let in by the defendant's mother. Redmond was not in the house at the time but returned when contacted by his parents.

He admitted that the drugs were hidden in a sofa in his bedroom. He told gardaí he had a cocaine habit and had collected the drugs from a nearby field two days earlier. He intended to sell the cocaine to friends in city centre pubs.

Redmond told gardaí that he would use the profits to pay off his drug debts and put the remainder, “up his nose”.

Judge Frank O'Donnell heard that just over 570 grams of cocaine was found with a street value of €39,950.

Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, said his client came from a decent, hardworking and very respectable family. Redmond began using drugs in his late teens and was a “vulnerable and easily led” individual.

Judge O'Donnell heard Redmond had six previous District Court convictions for offences, including drugs. He said he had sympathy for Remond's parents who had “done their best”.

However, Judge O'Donnell said he could find nothing “exceptional or specific” in this case which would cause him to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum of ten years. He told Redmond that he was a “trader” and had offered no “material assistance” to gardaí other than a plea of guilty.