Four plead guilty in massive heroin operation case
Four men who pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to acting as couriers in a multi-million euro heroin operation are to be sentenced in May.
Judge Katherine Delahunt remanded John Paul Cawley (aged 30) of Lugdoon, Doocastle, Ballymoate and Andrew Meeson (aged 40) of The Hawthorns, Carraroe, both in Sligo and Greg O’Brien (aged 20) of Dolphins Road, Drimnagh in custody. She remanded Solomon Spencer (aged 19), of Lansdowne Gate, Drimnagh on bail.
The four pleaded guilty to acting as drug couriers and possession of the drugs at Boomer’s carpark, Woodford Walk, Clondalkin in Dublin on January 23, 2009.
Detective Garda Paul Kane told Mr Sean Guerin BL, prosecuting, that a garda operation was put in place on the evening and a Nissan Almera and a Fiat Punto car pulled up at a car park in Ballyfermot.
The driver of the Fiat Punto, identified as Greg O’Brien, got out of his car and went to the Nissan Almera and then returned to his car.
Gardaí followed the two cars to Boomer’s car park where they searched both cars and located a sports holdall containing 14 half kilo bags of heroin valued at €1.3m on the floor of the front passenger seat in the Punto. Solomon Spencer was identified as being a back seat passenger.
Gardaí found a suitcase containing 20 half kilo bags of heroin valued at €1.9m in the Almera which Cawley was driving and Meeson was a passenger.
All four admitted they were shocked and “got a fright” when they found out the amount of drugs they had in their possession.
Cawley admitted he “took the job due to debt problems”. He had come to Dublin from Sligo the previous night and CCTV from a hotel he stayed in identified him carrying both the holdall and suitcase.
O’Brien, who was unemployed at the time, said he got involved as he “owed a guy a few hundred quid”, while Spencer said he was asked by O’Brien, who is his cousin, “to come for a spin and give directions”.
All four did not gain financially from their roles in the crime.
