DPP delay leads to €100k drug case being struck out

21-year-old man was accused of having €79k of heroin and €21k of cocaine at his Cork home

The total value of the suspected controlled drugs seized was €100,000.

The case against a 21-year-old man accused of having €79,000 worth of heroin and €21,000 worth of cocaine at his home in February was struck out because of the DPP delay in giving directions in the case.

Scott Arundel appeared at Cork District Court by video link from prison where the case had been marked peremptory against the state for DPP directions.

Sergeant Gearóid Davis confirmed that there were no directions available yet. In that event, Judge Miriam Walsh struck out the case against the accused.

Where cases are struck out in such circumstances it is open to the state to bring the charges again at a later stage.

The background allegations in this case are that on June 11, gardaí executed a warrant at the defendant’s home at Harbour View Road, Knocknaheeny, Cork.

Gardaí allegedly located a shopping bag concealed under the stairs within the kitchen containing a smaller plastic bag within which was located approximately 300 grams of suspected cocaine valued at €21,000.

A black Nike back pack was also seized within the hot press in the and this allegedly contained 20 individually wrapped quantities of suspected diamorphine, with a total weight of 565 grams. The value of the suspected diamorphine is €79,100.

The total value of the suspected controlled drugs seized was €100,000.

It was alleged during the initial application for bail that an electronic weighing scales with brown and white residue on its surface and plastic bagging similar to that used to bag the diamorphine was located within the kitchen drawers at the address.