Gardaí caught man with €160k worth of cannabis in car park of Cork hotel, court told

Gardaí also claim to have found €39,500 in cash in the man's car

Gardaí said they had found a large bag which had been placed in his vehicle which was found to contain approximately eight kilograms of cannabis with an estimated street value of €160,000.

Gardaí observed a transaction taking place in the car park of the Radisson Hotel in Little Island between the occupants of two vehicles and when officers moved in to carry out a search they found €160,000 worth of cannabis and €39,500 in cash.

That was the allegation made by Detective Garda Joseph Crowley in relation to the incident on December 19.

Det. Garda Crowley arrested a 43-year-old Lithuanian national who has been living in Ireland for the past 17 years. Mindaugas Stancikas was charged with money laundering, possession of cannabis for sale or supply and having cannabis for his own use.

Defence solicitor Frank Buttimer submitted at Cork District Court that it was an appropriate case for bail. He said the objection on the basis of the seriousness of the allegations was understood but that there were no other grounds.

He said there was no suggestion that further serious offences would be committed or that he was a flight risk, and he said that a comment that the accused had a specific role in a criminal organisation was speculation without any evidence.

Furthermore, he said that because of delays in drugs cases throughout the country, attributable to what the solicitor described as “the mysterious world of drug analysis”, he said the accused could be remanded in custody for months on end waiting for a trial.

Judge Marian O’Leary granted bail but on his own bond of €10,000, of which €7,500 would have to be lodged, and an independent surety of €15,000, of which €10,000 to be lodged, or cash of €15,000 to be lodged in lieu of surety.

The accused was remanded in custody with consent to that bail to a scheduled remand sitting of Cork District Court on December 27.

Mindaugas Stancikas of The Mews, Riverstown House, Glanmire, County Cork, is charged that on December 19 at the car park of the Radisson Hotel, Little Island, Cork, he engaged in possession of €39,500 cash while knowing that this was the proceeds of criminal conduct contrary to the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010.

He is also charged with having cannabis for his own use and possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying to others.

Objections to bail

Detective Garda Dermot Crowley objected to bail being granted to the accused. He said this was first based on the seriousness of the allegations.

An English-registered Vauxhall and an Irish-registered Range Rover were observed by gardaí in a car park of the Radisson Hotel on Tuesday morning.

“It is alleged that Mindaugas Stancikas was observed exiting the Range Rover with a package and entering the Vauxhall while the driver of the Vauxhall placed a large bag in the rear of the Mindaugas Stancikas vehicle. At this point they were approached by gardaí and informed they were to be searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

“The package which Mindaugas Stancikas placed in the Vauxhall was recovered and found to contain €39,500 cash while the large bag which had been placed in his vehicle was found to contain approximately eight kilograms of cannabis with an estimated street value of €160,000,” Det. Garda Crowley said.