'Kind' man 'coerced' into storing drugs worth €1.9m jailed for five years

By Sarah-Jane Murphy

A “caring, gentle, kind” Dublin painter who was “coerced” into storing drugs worth €1.9m in his garden shed has been jailed for five years.

Declan Cosgrave (53) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cannabis resin, cannabis and cocaine worth €1.9m at his home in Donaghmede Park, Dublin 13.

Blaise O'Carroll SC, defending, handed the court a testimonial from Cosgrave's former employer, which described him as “a very conscientious man who always went the extra mile for customers and for his colleagues”.

“By all accounts he is a caring, gentle, kind and hard working man. The cocaine use may have diminished his intellectual powers and made him vulnerable,” Mr O'Carroll said.

The court heard that gardaí acting on confidential information called to Cosgrave's home in Donaghmede with a search warrant.

The defendant had cocaine in the pockets of his trousers and told gardai there were more drugs upstairs, before handing them the key to the garden shed. Gardaí discovered the vast majority of the drugs stored in cardboard boxes in this shed.

The court heard that mixing agent, slabs of cannabis resin, cannabis worth €1.7m, cocaine with a street value of €31,000 and weighing scales were also uncovered.

During interviews with gardaí, Cosgrave said he had begun using cocaine 15 years previously to help with his chronic sleep apnoea.

He developed the condition after sustaining a head injury 20 years ago.

He told them he then racked up a massive drug debt and was holding the drugs to pay this off.

Cosgrave said when a van with the drugs arrived at his home he refused to take them when he realised the quantity involved.

He said he rang the van driver on a daily basis and “hounded” him to take them away.

Mr O'Carroll told the court his client was hospitalised as a child for psychiatric issues and grew up in the presence of an aggressive father.

Later he cared for his elderly mother who developed Alzheimers.

He said the defendant suffered from sleep apnoea and fell asleep on several occasions during his garda interviews.

Sentencing Cosgrave, Judge Cormac Quinn said the value of the drugs was an aggravating factor in this case.

“Much harm is done to society by drugs of this type in quantities of this type,” he said.

However Judge Quinn said he had to be cognisant of Cosgrave's plea, his co-operation with gardai, his medical conditions, the “element of coercion” in the case and his drug addiction.

“He was weak and vulnerable at the time he took possession of the drugs”, Judge Quinn said.

Other than three road traffic offences Cosgrave has no previous convictions and Judge Quinn said he was sentencing him on that basis.

He sentenced Cosgrave to seven years imprisonment and suspended the final two years for a period of two years.

Judge Quinn directed the defendant undergo supervision by the Probation Service for a period of two years upon his release.