No jail for Carrigaline man caught weighing and bagging cannabis in his kitchen

The man also had more than €12,000 cash wrapped in plastic under his mattress

The court heard the accused had an addiction to cannabis at the time. File picture: Getty

A Carrigaline man was caught with over €15,000 worth of cannabis in the kitchen of the house where he was living and he also had more than €12,000 cash wrapped in plastic under his mattress.

31-year-old Jamie McKenzie pleaded guilty to having the cannabis on December 30, 2019, at an address in Kingswood, Waterpark, Carrigaline, for sale or supply. He also admitted having cash as the proceeds of crime at the time.

Detective Garda Patrick O’Sullivan testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that a warrant was obtained to search the home of the accused at Kingswood, Carrigaline, on the day before New Year’s Eve 2019.

“The accused, Jamie McKenzie, was sitting at the kitchen table weighing out cannabis and bagging it. Cannabis was found in bags at various places in the kitchen. €12,250 in cash was wrapped in plastic under the mattress in the main bedroom.

“Mr McKenzie and another man were both arrested. He made full admissions. He insisted the other man had no involvement in it.

“Text messages were examined on Mr McKenzie’s phone. He clamed that the €12,250 cash was from an insurance claim years earlier but he could provide no details on that.

“The cannabis found at the house had a total street value of €15,500,” Det. Garda O’Sullivan said.

Emmet Boyle, defence barrister, said that since this offence was detected, the 31-year-old had not come to the attention of gardaí.

Mr Boyle said:

He had an addiction to cannabis at the time. When the search was conducted he was not the focus of interest. He was a habitual user. He said he had a debt at the time. He is not on the garda radar.

Det. Garda O’Sullivan said that the explanation of dealing to pay a debt was not consistent with the finding of a large amount of cash under his mattress.

Judge Catherine Staines said an aggravating factor was the value of the drugs. However, she said he fully co-operated, including admissions that he was totally responsible and that another person in the house was in no way involved.

Judge Staines said the accused appeared to be genuine in turning his life around. The judge imposed a fully suspended three-year sentence and a community service order of 200 hours. 

“I am going to give you a chance to give something back to the community,” Judge Staines said.