Man faces new charges following seizure of drugs and cash in Cork

Cannabis with an estimated street value of €160,000 was seized by gardaí in Cork.

The seizure of €160,000 worth of drugs at a hotel car park in Little Island followed by the alleged raid on a house in Riverstown containing a cannabis growhouse saw new charges being brought against a 43-year-old man on Monday.

Detective Garda Ruairi McGovern brought the fresh charges against Mindaugas Stancikas.

These include one count of having drugs for sale or supply at a time when its street value exceeded €13,000 — a charge with a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years unless there are exceptional circumstances — and a money-laundering charge in respect of €2,600.

It was previously alleged that 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.

Mr Stancikas was charged initially with money-laundering in respect of that amount of cash and having drugs and possession of them for sale or supply.

on Monday , he was charged with the more serious drugs charge arising out of alleged events in the hotel car park.

And he was also charged with a series of counts related to a search at his home on the same date. He was charged with possession of cannabis herb and resin and having both drugs for the purpose of sale or supply, cultivation of cannabis, and money-laundering in respect of €2,600 cash allegedly found at his home.

Sergeant Gearóid Davis said the Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial by indictment at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Frank Buttimer solicitor applied for a copy of some prosecution evidence in the case, describing the accused as a Lithuaninan national resident in Ireland for the past 20 years. Some of the previous bail conditions were relaxed, including the requirement to sign on seven days a week at his local garda station becoming a requirement to sign three days a week.

All ten charges now faced by Mindaugas Stancikas of The Mews, Riverstown House, Glanmire, County Cork, relate to December 19, 2023, at the car park of the Radisson Hotel, Little Island, Cork, and at his home in Riverstown.

In an account of the allegations given when the matter first came before the court, it was stated that at the hotel car park, gardaí carrying out surveillance observed a bag containing €39,500 cash placed in one vehicle, while a bag containing eight kilograms of cannabis with an estimated street value of €160,000 was put in another.