Man sentenced for possession of 450 kegs of Diageo beer

A father-of-one has received a two-year suspended sentence and a €4,000 fine for possessing 450 kegs of beer stolen from Diageo Ireland.

Jeffrey Carey (aged 30) of Quarry Road in Cabra pleaded guilty to handling the stolen property in Co Meath on November 28, 2007.

Detective Sergeant Adrian Whitelock told Mr Dominic McGinn BL, prosecuting, that Carey stored the kegs worth €24,900 at his rented warehouse at Whitecross Farm, Julianstown, Co Meath after they had been taken from a Guinness Brewery lorry which was due to travel to Killarney.

The supply of beer was reported missing at 10pm on the night of November 28, 2007. Several hours prior to this, a Scania lorry being driven in a dangerous manner at Whitecross Farm was reported to gardaí by a motorist.

The Julianstown warehouse owner, Mr Andrew Wood, alerted gardaí when he spotted a number of men at the locked facility rented by Carey and his brother Karl around the time of the heist.

Gardaí found one keg of Budweiser and two Guinness labels from kegs following a subsequent search on the warehouse.

Det Gda Whitelock said there was circular marks in the dust in the warehouse which indicated the kegs were stored there.

He said Carey admitted to using the unit but never had the full 450 kegs as he claimed he had “bought a single keg from a man in Dublin” and his brother Karl stored it in the unit.

His brother Karl (aged 24) of Jamestown Road, Hampton Wood, Finglas pleaded guilty on February 16 to possessing the stolen property at his rented warehouse on November 28, 2007 and was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay Diageo €4,000.

Judge Frank O’ Donnell commented that Jeffrey Carey was “a small cog in a large situation” and suspended the full sentence. The €4,000 in cash was handed over to Det Whitelock to give to Diageo as compensation.