A man who confessed to heroin dealing in Cork city has been jailed for one year.
That was the prison term Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed on Dean O’Driscoll at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
O’Driscoll was living at 25 Dominick St, Shandon, Cork, at the time of a drugs search carried out back on March 6, 2018.
Detective Garda Michelle Quinn testified that she obtained a warrant to search that house, based on confidential information.
Det Quinn and her colleagues went to the house on the date in March two years and carried out the search under warrant.
9.8 grams of heroin were found with a street value of €1,380 were found.
“Dean O’Driscoll admitted ownership of these bags of heroin found at his home and that he was selling heroin to feed his own habit,” Det Garda Quinn said.
Paula McCarthy, defending, said the 29-year-old did go to the UK and obtained employment over there following the drugs search in March 2018.
More recently, he was brought back to Cork following his arrest in the UK and the execution of an extradition warrant.
Ms McCarthy said: “He did not contest the UK arrest warrant and he entered a signed plea of guilty as fast as it could possibly be processed.”
Judge Ó Donnabháin acknowledged O’Driscoll did plead guilty to having drugs for sale or supply at the earliest possible time after he was brought back to Cork.
“I accept he had a very dysfunctional background. I have no alternative but to deal with it by a custodial sentence,” the judge said.
A 12-month custodial sentence was imposed on O’Driscoll, backdated to March as he has been in custody since then.
The 29-year-old came before Cork Circuit Criminal Court on a signed plea of guilty from Cork District Court.