Former 96FM presenter Pearse McCarthy gets eight years for drug-dealing

Gardaí had estimated that McCarthy had handled around 90 to 100 kilos of drugs with an approximate street value of up to €2 million

The judge said it was clear Pearse McCarthy (pictured) was "involved over a number of years” in the the sale and distribution of drugs. File picture: Denis Boyle

Former 96FM newsreader and radio presenter Pearse McCarthy was described on Friday as operating as a mid-ranking member of a drug distribution organisation in 2017 and was jailed for eight years for having €270,000 worth of drugs in Kinsale at that time.

Judge Helen Boyle said to the accused at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “Your level of culpability is relatively high – you were actively engaged in this, you had people reporting in to you and you reported to the bosses.” The 52-year-old who lived at Red Abbey Court, off Margaret Street in Cork, was given a nine-year sentence with the last year suspended.

“You held a mid-ranking role in the organised criminal enterprise for the sale and distribution of drugs. You were actively involved… Gardaí discovered evidence of active distribution of drugs including accounts, electronic devices that would indicate the distribution of drugs. It is clear you were involved over a number of years.” 

Detective Garda Colin O’Mahony charged the defendant on a count which stated that on October 27, 2017, at an address in Kinsale, County Cork, he had cannabis, cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy) for sale or supply at a time when the aggregate market value of the drugs exceeded €13,000. That threshold figure put the accused at risk of a mandatory minimum jail term of 10 years.

Garda testimony

Det. Garda O’Mahony said that when the accused was arrested and questioned he admitted being in possession of the drugs at Kinsale and that he and three others were involved in the collection and distribution of drugs.

“He communicated with his bosses to make sure stock was balanced, he would forward names, drop-offs and locations (for drug distribution) to drivers on behalf of his bosses. He said he was mid-ranking in the operation but he said he was a patsy.

“He had authority to instruct and co-ordinate and that he was the sole point of contact with the bosses. He said at interview (in respect of the seizure of drugs in Kinsale), the drugs would have been gone by the weekend if guards had not raided the place,” Det. Garda O’Mahony said.

The defendant admitted buying burner phones every week or fortnight to facilitate contacts with drivers and that over the course of two-and-a-half to three years in this drug-dealing operation he had handled what the detective put at 90 to 100 kilos of drugs with an approximate street value of up to €2 million.

Defence plea

Jane Hyland, defence senior counsel, emphasised that the amount of drugs for which the accused was being sentenced was a total of €270,000. She also said that he first began to use drugs as a result of an early traumatic event and that despite successful rehabilitation he relapsed following the sudden death of his partner in 2001. 

She said that he became involved with the drug organisation referred to in this case because of a debt that he accrued through drug use. Ms Hyland said the lengthy investigation only saw the accused being arrested and questioned around 2021 in relation to the events dating back to 2017 and that Pearse McCarthy was not responsible for this delay.