10 years for man caught with €2m worth of cannabis

A bereaved father, who became involved in a €2m cannabis operation to cover the bill for his daughter's funeral, has received a ten year prison sentence.

50-year-old Terry O'Donoghue of Ely Close, Old Court Road in Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty to possessing €2m worth of cannabis herb at a slip road off the N7 at Castlewarden in Co Kildare and at Cookstown Industrial Estate in Tallaght in February of last year.

He told Gardaí that a man had approached him in a pub shortly after his teenage daughter had died and asked if he had enough money to cover the funeral.

He said he borrowed 2,500 euro from this person and got involved delivering drugs to offset the debt.

His co-accused 40-year-old Michael Lawlor of Cois Na Choil in Pollerton in Carlow pleaded guilty to possessing just over €600,000 worth of cannabis herb in Castlewarden in Co Kildare.

He received a seven year prison term with the last year suspended.