Man who possessed €2m worth of heroin remanded pending sentence

A Kildare man who was caught with €2m worth of heroin following a Garda surveillance operation after a suspicious pallet was intercepted by custom officers has been remanded in custody pending sentence.

Paul Drew (aged 24) of Ferns Close, Ferns Bridge, Monasterevin, was observed throughout the day driving in the vicinity of the vehicles that had been carrying the drugs and gardaí were satisfied that he was in charge of supervising its transportation.

Drew pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the heroin for sale or supply in Corbally, Saggart on January 25, 2008. He had three previous convictions and his assets are currently frozen pending an investigation into whether they should be confiscated.

Judge Katherine Delahunt said she needed time to consider the matter and adjourned the case to later this month.

Garda Val Russell told Ms Karen O’Connor BL, prosecuting, that gardai organised a controlled delivery of a pallet, which had originated from Belgium, after a quantity of heroin was found in it.

Custom officers first became suspicious after they noted that the pallet had been addressed to a company that was no longer operating.

The pallet of drugs was followed after delivery of it was accepted at the address supplied. The pallets were then placed in a truck before it was driven to Ashbourne in Co Meath and the haul was moved to another vehicle.

This vehicle was then left in a car park in a pub in a Rathoath, also in Meath, for some time before it was finally driven to a yard in Saggart and unloaded.

Gardaí observed Drew picking up the driver of the vehicle that had been transporting the drugs to Rathoath and later driving behind the same truck when it was collected again and driven to Saggart.

He was arrested after gardaí swooped in on the gang as they were unloading the pallets. Drew’s subsequent garda interview revealed nothing of evidential value.

Gda Russell told Ms O’Connor that Drew was an apprentice plumber at the time who had been living with his parents.

He agreed with Mr Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, that it was a highly complex case that involved circumstantial evidence as Drew was only found in the vicinity of the drugs and never actually in possession of them.

He further accepted that those "higher up the chain" than Drew were extremely dangerous and he would have been in debt arising out of him "effectively losing the drugs".

Gda Russell agreed that a theft charge that Drew was now facing in Naas Circuit Criminal Court could be related to his involvement with this gang and the pressure he would be under for losing their property.

Mr O’Higgins told Judge Delahunt that his client had bought a home in the midst of the property boom and his mortgage was in arrears at the time of his arrest as he was unemployed.