Teen forced to carry drugs for dealers
A teenage boy, who was forced by drug dealers to act as a courier to transport €18,000 worth of herbal cannabis, has been spared a custodial sentence.
The 17-year-old north Dublin boy had pleaded guilty at the Children’s Court to possessing two kilos of herbal cannabis, on a date last April.
Garda Trevor Bolger, of Santry station, had told Judge Patrick McMahon that the teenager, who was accompanied to court by his mother, had no prior convictions.
Defence solicitor Mr John Bermingham said the defendant “had run up a debt to drug dealers.”
“He was told he needed to bring the drugs from A to B or his safety would be in danger.”
“While he had free will, outside forces dictated his actions.”
The court heard the boy, who is taking part in a training course, was in fear of the drug dealers and had already been beaten up by them.
Judge McMahon said that he had considered sending the case forward to the Circuit Court which, given the amount of drugs involved, could have imposed a mandatory minimum ten-year sentence.
However noting the submissions from Mr Bermingham, he said the court’s “heart is not made out of stone.” He agreed to retain the case in the Children’s Court but also added that the teenager “had got himself into these difficulties.”
He noted yesterday that a positive probation report on the boy had been furnished to court.
Judge McMahon imposed a 12-month probation supervisory bond releasing the boy.
The teenager was warned that he must continue to work with and accept recommendations from his probation officer to address offending and must not commit any further offence over the one-year period of the bond.
Failure to adhere to these terms could lead to the boy’s case being brought back to court which could impose an alternative sanction, including a custodial sentence.
