A DUBLIN man jailed for 10 years for possession of €90,000 worth of heroin has had his sentence in effect halved by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
The drugs were found hidden in the extractor fan in the kitchen of the flat of Brian Ormonde, Synott Place, Dublin, on June 23rd, 2007.
He was also found with a weighing scales, a tub of glucose (using for mixing with drugs), two “tick lists” of drugs and names and €830 cash.
The Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday found there was an error of principle in the imposition of the 10-year sentence.
It reduced the sentence to seven years, with the last two suspended after taking into account his early admission of guilty, his guilty plea and his own drug addiction.
Giving the three-judge decision, Mr Justice Declan Budd said Ormonde was involved in the “serious drugs trade”. It had to be acknowledged, however, he had made an early admission, pleaded guilty and had no previous serious convictions. For these reasons the court held that the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years should be mitigated “on terms which will encourage the applicant to overcome his habit of using drugs”.
The court noted Ormonde had immediately admitted and accepted that the packages contained heroin and that he owned them.
Ormonde had said he owed about €14,000 for the drugs and had begun selling after some heroin of his was stolen.
He had fled to England because he felt his life was in danger and when he returned, he began selling drugs to pay off the debt, which by then was about €20,000.
Ormonde admitted he was addicted to cocaine and that the “tick list” referred to amounts of heroin he had supplied to people. He said the glucose was to mix with the heroin.
He also told gardaí his primary motivation in selling drugs was to pay the debt.
Gardaí said Ormonde had eight minor previous convictions, mostly for public order offences, and one for possession of firearms and offensive weapons.