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Gardaí discovered €60,000 worth of various illegal drugs after noticing a “strong smell of cannabis” from a former delivery rider on an e-bike in Dublin, a court heard.
Pedro Henrique Caldeira dos Santos (20) was intercepted on Thursday evening on Talbot Street in Dublin 1, and gardaí with the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT) conducted a follow-up search of his apartment at Parnell Square.
The Brazilian national appeared before Judge Susan Fay at Dublin District Court on Saturday and faced bail objections due to flight risk concerns.
He is accused of 13 counts of possessing MDMA, ecstasy tablets, cannabis, ketamine, cocaine, diamorphine, alprazolam and LSD at Talbot Street and his home address.
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He also has a charge for breaching the Immigration Act. The court heard at the time of arrest he was an “over-stayer” and no longer legally permitted to be in the country, which the Garda National Immigration Bureau has confirmed.
DCRT Garda Sean Purcell said the accused made no reply to most of the charges but said, “I don’t think there was LSD there” and “I don’t think there was any heroin”.
The officer alleged the accused, who has yet to indicate a plea, was “caught red-handed”.
The contested bail hearing was told the accused allegedly cycled past gardaí who were alerted to a “strong smell of cannabis”.
They allegedly seized €5,500 of various drugs from the accused at Talbot Street and then went to his home and searched his bedroom where they recovered drugs worth €55,000 and €4,360 in cash.
The court heard the accused had no ties to the jurisdiction.
Cross-examined by defence solicitor Philip Denieffe, the garda agreed that the accused had no prior convictions but said bail with strict conditions would not alleviate his concerns.
He accepted the accused could face a lengthy wait until his trial, and directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions and a forensic analysis report were awaited.
Mr Denieffe told the court his client lived with friends and a sibling who is due back in Ireland on Monday.
He said the accused had been in Ireland for two years and had previously worked as a delivery rider. The solicitor pleaded with the court to impose the strictest bail terms and to give his client a chance to demonstrate compliance.
Judge Fay said that while the accused had the presumption of innocence, the garda had established his objection to bail on the grounds that the accused would likely attempt to evade justice.
The defendant listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter but did not address the court.
Judge Fay granted him legal aid and remanded him in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on August 18th.