Irish Army corporal involved in €6.6m money-laundering operation for drug dealers is jailed

Phone evidence linked accused to known drug dealers, court heard

Richard Kearney at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. File picture: IrishPhotoDesk.ie

A former corporal in the Irish Defence Forces was involved in a money-laundering operation that handled over €6.6m worth of drug dealers’ cash, a court has heard.

Richard Kearney, 36, of Shancastle Drive, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to having €25,000, knowing or being reckless as to whether it was the proceeds of crime at an address in Fernwood Lawn, Tallaght on May 6, 2022. He has no previous convictions.

On Wednesday, Kearney was jailed for three years.

Garda Vincent Jaffray told Alison Fynes BL prosecuting, that a phone seized during the search of Kearney’s rented home at the time was analysed and found to contain communication with known drug dealers.

The garda said the conversations showed amounts of money, locations and dates and suggested Kearney was responsible for laundering €6.6m and £250,000 in sterling between April 2021 and May 2022.

He said the search also uncovered €10,455 in cash, concealed in a bedframe and a further €15,000 wrapped in clingfilm in a freezer.

Kearney admitted during interview he was the only person who lived in the flat and confirmed it was his phone.

Garda Jaffray confirmed analysis of Kearney’s bank statements showed he had no legitimate way of making the amount of money which was found in his home.

Garda Jaffray agreed with Ciara Ní Ghabhann BL, defending, that Kearney caused no trouble during interview and answered all questions put to him.

He accepted he was a corporal with the Irish Defence Forces and would now lose that job.

Ms Ní Ghabhann told Judge Martin Nolan her client was a father of two children and acts as a parent to his partner’s four children.

She said he had risen to rank of corporal in the Irish Defence Forces and was involved in the equestrian school with the army. He travelled to the Olympics with an equestrian team, where he acted as a groom.

Ms Ní Ghabhann said Kearney looked for a transfer in location in the army, which led to a drop in his wages, and he struggled financially as a result.

She said around Christmas 2020 he was approached and offered what he thought was a “friendly loan”, but he found himself “in over his head”.

Counsel said threats started to come in and Kearney had to get involved in the offence as a result.

Judge Nolan said gardaí had certain beliefs which led them to embark on the search of Kearney’s home, adding “their beliefs were justified”.

He acknowledged Kearney pleaded guilty to possession of the physical cash that was found during the search but said the full facts, as disclosed during the sentence hearing, detailed phone evidence which demonstrated Kearney was involved in “very substantial money-laundering”.

Judge Nolan accepted Kearney had no record of conviction, had family responsibilities, was unlikely to come before the courts again and had “many, many good points”.

He noted the maximum penalty available to the court was 14 years and said given the seriousness of the offence, a headline sentence of six years was appropriate.

Judge Nolan reduced the sentence to three years, having taken into account the various mitigating features of the case.