Father and son successfully appeal drugs convictions
A father and son, jailed for a total of 16 years for drugs offences had their convictions overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal today.
The three-judge court held it would allow an appeal by both Kieran Smyth Snr and Kieran Smyth Jnr, and ordered that they be re-tried.
Kieran Smyth (aged 50) and his son (aged 27) of Old Grange, Desart Lane in Armagh, were jailed for 10 and six years respectively for the possession of herbal cannabis worth €500,000 and for the possession of the drugs for sale and supply on August 20, 2007.
Both men were arrested at Falcarragh in Donegal, following a sophisticated sting operation, during which gardaí posed as delivery men.
Mr Smyth Snr and Mr Smyth Jnr were convicted and sentenced before Letterkenny Circuit Court in July 2008 following a two-week trial.
Only one ground of appeal was put forward by lawyers representing the Armagh men, which concerned the “nature of a reversed burden of proof” in a charge of “possession of controlled drugs”.
Under relevant drugs legislation, where it is proved a defendant had a controlled drug in his possession, it “shall be a defence to prove” that he “did not know and had no reasonable grounds for suspecting” that what he has were drugs.
Mr Patrick Gageby SC argued the trial judge “misdirected” the jury in its consideration of this by incorrectly stating that the burden of proving the guilt of the accused rested with the prosecution and that “this never shifted to the defence”.
In a written judgement delivered by Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan presiding, sitting with Mr. Justice Peter Charleton and Mr. Justice Bryan McMahon, the court also held there was a “danger” that the jury “perceived such a direction “to be inconsistent” to those outlined at the opening of the trial by lawyers for the State.
In statements made to gardaí and at evidence during the trial, Mr Smyth Jnr said he was contacted by a friend and asked to collect parcels containing computer parts. He said he was instructed to use a new mobile phone and to use a different name.
As he was unable to drive, he asked his father to drive a van and to help him collect the parcels. They were to be paid €300 for this.
Kieran Smyth Snr, signed for the five boxes using a different name, but gardaí stopped the two men as they began to drive away.
The five parcels contained 50 kilos of herbal cannabis worth €500,000.
The judgement of the CCA today also made “some brief comments” as to the form of direction which “should be given” in such cases.
