Dealers forced vulnerable Corkman to hold drugs by taking his Pokemon cards

The court heard: 'His belongings were taken off him. They included his phone worth no more than €100 or €200, a chain, a watch and Pokeman cards.'

Judge Boyle imposed a suspended sentence of two-and-a-half years on the defendant at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. File picture: Larry Cummins

A man with an intellectual disability had his Pokeman cards and other low-value personal property taken by drug dealers who pressured him into holding onto a large consignment of ecstasy tablets that put him at risk of 10 years in jail.

Judge Helen Boyle said: “This is one of the exceptional cases where a sentence can be fully suspended.” Judge Boyle imposed a suspended sentence of two-and-a-half years on 27-year-old John Paul O’Regan of 60 Greenhills Court, Douglas, Cork, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.