Boy, 14, threatened 'he would be burnt alive' over drug debt

Teenager charged with having €113k work of cannabis for sale or supply at his home

The teenagers's mother told the Children's Court she blamed herself and described other problems with her mental health and her home life over the years. As a result, she said, her son suffered from anxiety and had been trying to help her. Picture: Billy Higgins 

A then 14-year-old Dublin boy charged over a €113,000 cannabis seizure has been sent forward for trial.

The boy, now 15, appeared at the Dublin Children's Court, where prosecutors served him with a book of evidence.

Judge Paul Kelly granted a return for trial order sending the teen forward to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where he will face his next hearing in June.

Previously, the boy had a preliminary hearing to decide his trial venue.

His teen's distraught mother wept, describing how her son got caught up in drugs, his cannabis debt and threats of being "burned alive".

Gardaí charged him with having drugs for sale or supply at his home in Dublin in 2020.

Outlining the allegations, Garda Lee Keenan told the court he obtained a warrant to search the teenager's home. As a result, he recovered 5.6kg of cannabis "located in numerous places throughout the house".

Five kilos of cannabis were in vacuum-packed bags; the rest was in small €20 deal bags.

Gardaí detained the teen at a Dublin station for questioning, where he "showed extensive knowledge of how drugs should be prepared to be sold".

The garda agreed with defence counsel Cecilia Ní Choileáin that the quantity suggested the boy worked for someone else. The court heard the boy had "run up a drug debt", which he had to discharge, resulting in the drug find.

The garda accepted the teen's drug knowledge was readily available on the internet.

The teenagers's mother told the court she blamed herself and described other problems with her mental health and her home life over the years. As a result, she said, her son suffered from anxiety and had been trying to help her.

She acknowledged he had been using cannabis and was in debt.

Visibly upset, she told the court she was trying to find a new home due to threats that "we are going to be burned alive".

She said her son was in education and getting help for his drug-use problem.

The teenager tearfully remained silent during the proceedings.

Counsel asked Judge Paul Kelly to accept jurisdiction and note the teen's age and vulnerability.

But given the value involved, the judge held that the case was too serious and should go forward to the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers.