Teenage crack cocaine trafficker given suspended sentence
A Nigerian teenage asylum seeker, who was heavily involved in the sale of crack cocaine in inner city Dublin, has been released on six-month suspended sentence.
The 17-year-old had pleaded guilty to trafficking in €3,000 worth of crack cocaine and was believed to be linked to a major Nigerian drugs gang operating in the city-centre, the Dublin Children’s Court had heard.
At the time of his arrest, following weeks of investigation, he also had €2,600 in cash on his person.
The teenager had fled Nigeria after his mother died and his father was murdered over his religion. After he came to Ireland last September he started abusing crack cocaine and worked for a drug dealer to pay for his addiction.
Judge Angela Ni Chonduin had heard that the boy had been arrested on October 6 for possession of crack cocaine on Amien Street with intent to supply.
On the following day he was remanded in custody to St Patrick’s Institution after the court heard he was part of a major Nigerian drugs gang which planned to take him out of the country if he got bail.
Garda Brendan Casey, Store Street Station said that when arrested the teenager was initially found in possession of €500 worth of crack cocaine.
When he was detained for questioning at Store Street garda station, he produced six packs of crack cocaine, which he had hidden in his back passage. The total street value of the drugs was €3,000, the court heard.
During his interview at the garda station the teenager admitted his role in the sale of cocaine in the north inner city, Garda Casey said.
In mitigation, defence counsel Mr Niall Nolan said the boy had come to Ireland in September last year.
Shortly before leaving his homeland his mother had died from a heart attack.
His father, who was a Christian, was murdered "as part of a religious blood lust", Mr Nolan told Judge Ni Chonduin.
After his father’s killing, a priest helped get the teenager out of Nigeria to Ireland.
When he arrived in the country he applied for asylum and was then put in the care of the East Coast Area Health Board. He was enrolled in a secondary school but had to leave when it was discovered that he had literacy difficulties.
Mr Nolan also said the teenager’s motive was not profit but had stemmed from his crack cocaine addiction, which caused him to spiral out of control.
The boy had also said his role in the offence stemmed from his drug use and did not profit from the offence. He said he was given his personal supply of crack cocaine in return for making deliveries of the drug.
A health board project worker who has been helping the boy since his arrival in Ireland had said she had always found him to be of good behaviour.
She had also said that if released the teenager would be provided with accommodation and support to help him quit drugs.
Plans are afoot to have the teenager placed on a back-to-school course, the court heard.
Mr Nolan said dubious individuals had preyed on the teenager who was vulnerable after he had become an addict.
They had used him like a pawn for their own benefit, he told the court.
Judge Ni Chonduin said that in view of the amount of drugs seized and the value of the money on the teenager when he was arrested, the case warranted a custodial sentence.
However, after hearing pleas for leniency she decided to impose a six-month sentence, suspended on condition that the teenager keeps the peace for the next two years.
