The State has dropped a charge of possession of €2.5 million worth of ecstasy in the light of last week’s Court of Appeal ruling. The accused man, who was also found with a similar amount of cannabis, had already pleaded guilty to possessing more than 250,000 ecstasy tablets for sale or supply in 2013.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions asked the court to withdraw the ecstasy charge and proceed solely on the cannabis counts. Tony McGillicuddy, for the DPP, said the change was because of the “Bederev judgment”, in which the appeal court ruled ecstasy and other drugs were unconstitutionally banned.The drugs concerned are illegal again after emergency legislation.
Gary Byrne (42) of Belcamp Gardens , Coolock, Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of €2.52 million worth of cannabis resin and cannabis herb at Rosemount Business Park in Ballycoolin and North West Business Centre in Blanchardstown in June 2013.
He will be sentenced on Thursday at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. At a sentencing hearing yesterday, Mr McGillicuddy presented evidence from the Garda National Drugs Unit that Byrne was the subject of a surveillance operation on June 4th, 2013.