Man (22) sentenced to two years in prison for possession of cocaine and €24,000 criminal cash

A young man with no previous criminal record has been sentenced to two years in prison for possession of cocaine and nearly €24,000 in criminal cash.

When gardaí arrested construction worker Josh Keating (22) in September 2020 he told them he had been selling cocaine for the previous 18 months. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard he comes from a good family and began to abuse drugs a few years ago but is now drug free.

Keating of Arthur Griffith Park, Lucan, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession for sale or supply of cocaine and possession of the proceeds of crime in the form of €23,950 in cash at the above address on September 3rd, 2020.

Passing sentence on Thursday Judge Martin Nolan said, “for his own reasons, this defendant was dealing drugs for about 18 months”.

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Judge Nolan said the mitigation in this case is excellent with the defendant having no previous convictions and a good work history. Keating also fully co-operated with gardaí and made admissions during questioning.

“This court deals in culpability, and I want to be fair to the defendant. But in this case, the accused was dealing drugs for a considerable period of time and made a considerable profit.

“This man deserves a custodial term, and I believe the appropriate sentence is two years in prison,” the judge said.

Garda John Griffin told John Quinn, BL prosecuting, that gardaí were carrying out surveillance in Lucan on the day in question when they saw Keating and another man and became suspicious.

Keating was stopped and gardaí obtained a search warrant for his address. During the subsequent search gardaí found €23,950 in cash in a shed at the back of the house, and €4,200 worth of cocaine. Keating was detained, interviewed and co-operated fully throughout the process, Gda Griffin said.

Keating told gardaí that he works in construction and earns about €500 a week. He also said that over the past year and a half he had been selling cocaine.

Gda Griffin agreed with Barry Ward, BL, defending, that Keating had not come to Garda attention before this incident and he is unlikely to come to their attention in the future. The garda agreed with counsel that Keating handed over his mobile phone and pin to the gardaí.

Mr Ward said his client comes from a good family, and his father was present in court. Counsel said Keating began to abuse drugs years ago but has rehabilitated himself and is now drug-free.

He asked the court to take into account the many positive letters handed into court on behalf of his client and asked the court to consider a non-custodial sentence.