Drug courier gets seven years

A drug courier who earned a weekly "wage" of €400 for moving drugs for criminals has been given a seven-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possession of cannabis valued €7m.

Stephen Pender (aged 43), who was driving the van in which the drugs were found, failed to show up for his trial on the charges last November and bail money of €50,000, which was put up by his mother-in-law, was forfeited.

Pender, of Glasanaon Road, Finglas, was arrested shortly afterwards and pleaded guiltyto possession of cannabis valued at over €7m, for sale or supply on November 15, 2005 at Parkgate Street, just before a jury was due to be sworn in for his new trial last July.

A co-accused, David Doyle (aged 21), of Ballygall Parade, Finglas, who was a passenger in the van, was sentenced to seven years with three suspended, by Judge Patrick McCartan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last February.

Judge Katherine Delahunt said Pender was not a naive youth and had a more significant criminal history than Doyle, who was just 17 years old at the time with one minor conviction.

She said that she was satisfied that there were "special and exceptional circumstances" in the case and said she was taking into account his guilty plea which was of assistance due to the circumstantial nature of the evidence.

She imposed a seven-year sentence with one year suspended on strict conditions.

Detective Garda Jim McDermott told Mr Tom O’Connell SC (with Ms Caroline Biggs BL), prosecuting, that a surveillance operation was set up which led to the gardai stopping the van that day on Parkgate Street.

He said one metric tonne of cannabis resin, valued at over €7m, was found when gardaí searched the van.

Det. Garda McDermott said the van contained sealed wooden crates marked as "motor parts" to be delivered to an address in Harolds Cross. He said the person at that address had no knowledge of the consignment and the van was not driving in a direction consistent with going to Harolds Cross.

Det. Garda McDermott said Pender had 27 previous convictions including two robberies dating back to the 1980s for which he received sentences of two and 10 years.

Defence counsel, Mr Michael O’Higgins SC (with Ms Caroline Biggs BL), said Pender’s father was a violent alcoholic with whom he had little contact and Pender had lived in England during his childhood with relatives.

Mr O’Higgins said that on his return to Ireland after serving the robbery sentences Pender developed a serious drug addiction and was doing odd jobs earning a weekly wage of €400 moving drugs "from A to B".

He said the drugs in this case might be of an enormous quantity but the gain to his client was "minuscule".

He asked the court to take into account his clients guilty plea and the fact that he was vulnerable to the temptation to earn money when he was unemployed. He submitted that this was not a case in which the presumptive minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment should apply.