Cocaine dealer sentenced to three years in jail
Picture used for illustration purposes only
A MAN whom gardaí believe played an active part in the distribution of cocaine was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment when he appeared before the last sitting of Carlow Circuit Court.
Detective Garda Eoin McGrath told the court he believed that father-of-three Liam Kelly (32) played a key role in the distribution and sale of cocaine, along with an associate also known to gardaí, and that when Carlow gardaí raided a house in John Sweeney Park, Carlow, the pair were in the middle of processing a batch of cocaine.
Mr Kelly, 7 Glebeside, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing cocaine for sale or supply at an address in John Sweeney Park, Carlow on 9 May 2022.
Garda McGrath told Judge Eugene O’Kelly that gardaí found €5,739 worth of cocaine along with a device for pressing the drug as well as a mixing agent and €3,500 in cash.
“They were in the process of making bars of cocaine when the gardaí arrived,” said Garda McGrath.
He added that the drugs were openly on view and that Mr Kelly, apart from admitting to owning a small bag of cocaine that was found on him, replied “no comment” when initially questioned by gardaí.
Garda McGrath continued that Mr Kelly and his associate were lifelong friends and that he had no doubt that the defendant played “an active part” in the distribution of cocaine.
Tara Geoghegan BL, counsel for Mr Kelly, outlined her client’s circumstances, saying that he became unemployed in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. He fell on hard times, she said, and “made the mistake of trying to make some money”. She continued that Mr Kelly has now made efforts to turn his life around and that he has moved to Castlecomer, away from his former associates in Carlow. She added that he was employed and that he wrote a letter of apology to the court.
When sentencing the defendant, Judge O’Kelly noted that the gardaí had searched a house that was associated with drug trafficking and that Mr Kelly had not assisted the gardaí in their investigations.
He also said that the case had “all the hallmarks of cocaine distribution”, but added that Mr Kelly had stayed out of trouble since then and that he was “clearly a family man”.
He then sentenced Mr Kelly to three years and eight months’ imprisonment, but suspended the final eight months for a period of eight months on his release.
