Student found with €10k worth of cocaine in shoebox given suspended sentence - Courts News Ireland

A young man who was found with over €10,000 worth of cocaine in a shoebox in his bedroom has been given a suspended sentence. Galway Circuit Criminal Court heard that the now 20-year-old man, who can’t be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of drugs and one count of possession for sale or supply at

A young man who was found with over €10,000 worth of cocaine in a shoebox in his bedroom has been given a suspended sentence.

Galway Circuit Criminal Court heard that the now 20-year-old man, who can’t be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of drugs and one count of possession for sale or supply at a Galway city address on July 6, 2024.

Garda Conor Breen told Shane O’Callaghan BL, prosecuting, that on the evening in question, he was on mobile patrol when he saw a young man acting suspiciously in the Newtownsmith area of Galway City.

When gardai approached him and told him he was about to be searched, he fled the scene but was apprehended on Market Street, where he was arrested and taken to the Galway Garda Regional and Divisional HQ.

The young man was searched, but was not in possession of any drugs. When asked by gardai for his address, he became evasive but eventually gave the details. Gardai obtained a search warrant and went to his room in his shared accommodation.

Gda Breen told the court that officers found a shoebox containing two large bags of “white powder” and “53 deal bags”. The defendant was brought to the room and shown the suspected bags of cocaine. He immediately took ownership.

During interview, he said the drugs were his and that he had been given them to hold and sell. He also disclosed that he had discarded two bags of cocaine while he was being chased by the gardai.

Forensic Science Ireland analysed the white powder and confirmed it was cocaine with a street value of €10,815. The defendant has no previous convictions and was 18 years and three months when apprehended.

Judge Brian O’Callaghan asked Gda Breen if the street value of the cocaine fell under the new increased street value valuation, and the garda told the court that the street value of cocaine at the time of analysis was €70 per gram of cocaine. The new increased street value is €100 per gram of cocaine, the court heard.

Gda Breen agreed with Keith Concannon BL, defending, that the defendant completed his Leaving Certificate and is currently in college in Dublin.

The garda agreed that, at the time of committing this offence, the defendant was living in a Direct Provision Centre and had been contacted by a third party on Snapchat regarding drugs. He further agreed that on the night his client was stopped, he had never interacted with the gardai before and that a “fight or flight” response may have set in.

Mr Concannon said his client is now 20 years old, living in Dublin and studying. He said that he and his family fled Nigeria and came to Ireland. His father has Irish citizenship, and his son is a named dependent on it. Both of the young man’s parents were present in court.

Counsel said his client has turned his life around and has not come to any garda attention since. He said that at the time, the state provided him with accommodation and food and gave him a €38 weekly allowance.

Mr Concannon said that, because of this criminal conviction, his client will find it extremely difficult and it will be a long road to get his Irish citizenship. He said this young man has faced hardship in his life and was open to being taken advantage of by third parties.

He asked the court to consider that his client has done everything his legal team has asked of him to turn his life around and that he will go on to do good things. He concluded by asking the court to be as lenient as possible.

Passing sentence, Judge Brian O’Callaghan said this young man came forward on signed guilty pleas. He noted the sentence he was about to impose would have been much greater “if you had not gone into the District Court and put your hands up and pleaded guilty”.

He noted the defendant was barely over 18 and was a vulnerable person.

The judge told the man: “You were feeding people who were addicted to drugs.” He said he considered this an aggravating factor along with the impact that drug dealing has on society. He set a headline sentence of four years.

Judge O’Callaghan said the mitigation in this case was the defendant’s young age, his very early guilty plea, his education, his clear remorse, and his vulnerability at the time.

He reduced the headline sentence by 50 per cent in light of the mitigating factors and suspended the two-year sentence in full for three years. He said in this case “there was no one exceptional circumstance, but there was a number of cumulative circumstances”.