The Co Kerry businessman involved with the largest crystal meth seizure in the history of the State has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by the non-jury Special Criminal Court.
Nathan McDonnell (44) was to be paid €150,000 by an Irish crime gang based in Kerry for storing a large machine containing drugs with a street value of €32.4 million, at Ballyseedy garden centre, Co Kerry, and arranging for its transportation to Australia.
While McDonnell might not have had direct knowledge of what was hidden inside the machine, he could “join the dots” and know that drugs were involved, Ms Justice Melanie Greally said.
McDonnell’s motivation for getting involved was financial. The court heard evidence the drugs were linked to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel, a crime gang involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and murder.
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A Garda search of a property in Listowel uncovered several devices and evidence of contacts with McDonnell as well as between a “named individual” and a man in Spain called Sam, believed to be linked to the Mexican cartel. A later search of the same property uncovered two submachine guns and ammunition magazines, among other items.
McDonnell , who pleaded guilty to helping a gang import the drugs, was beaten up in prison last weekend and had to have surgery on his face, his counsel, Michael Bowman SC, told the court before sentencing.
Screws, wires and two plates had to be inserted in to his jaw after he was “assaulted viciously,” in Portlaoise Prison, the court was told. The assault was indicative of the added protection McDonnell will require in prison, counsel said.
Mr Bowman asked that the court take this into account when sentencing his client.
McDonnell – who ran Ballyseedy Home & Garden, a family landscaping, garden centre and cafe business which has been in operation for 30 years over three generations, and has three sons attending primary school–- appeared in court in a white shirt, striped tie, and wearing a disposable mask on his face.
The court heard attempts are being made to save parts of the business group, which employed more than 140, but the holding company now had a value of zero. McDonnell had suffered an “irretrievable loss of reputation” and he and his family would now have to live with the “stigma” of what he had done as well as fears for their safety.
McDonnell, of Ballyroe, Tralee, Co Kerry, pleaded guilty to importing methylamphetamine, on October 16th, 2023, at Cork Port, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to 2019.
He also pleaded guilty to being involved in, or contributing to, with knowledge of a criminal organisation, the importation and supply of a controlled drug between dates in October 2023 and February 2024.
Ms Justice Greally, presiding, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone, said it would be wrong to describe McDonnell’s role as merely that of being a “cog in the wheel”.
His initial involvement in the scheme was not motivated by fear of the named individual but was linked to severe financial difficulties McDonnell had at the time and addiction problems in the immediate family.
The named individual was previously questioned by gardaí about suspected involvement in a number of crimes, including murder. McDonnell had reason to fear for himself, his wife, and his family, the court heard.
Before deciding on the sentence, the court took into account the danger McDonnell would face in prison, the fears he had for the safety of his family, the shame he would have to live with, and loss of the family business.
However, it also took into account the “vast quantity” of highly addictive drugs involved, drugs that were capable of causing “widespread misery and social harm”, and the fact that the drugs belonged to an international criminal organisation.
McDonnell was “committed to and invested in the success of the venture”, the judge said. He hoped the money he would receive would help him deal with the debts owed by the family business he was operating.
The judge noted McDonnell had co-operated at an early stage, had no previous convictions, and had a record of “positive good character” as a member of society and an employer.
He was also a “devoted father” and the most “punitive” aspect of what he would now suffer was being absent from the life of his sons for most of their childhood, she said.
McDonnell’s “experience of prison is likely to be very challenging” and the recent assault he suffered was evidence of the risk he faced, she said.
