A DRUG dealer was told by a judge that he had to be dealt with severely because "you, and people like you, are a menace on the streets of this city, doing untold harm."
In the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, Judge Kieran O'Connor sentenced Terence Russell (23), to 10 years for possession of just over £1,600 worth of heroin. Russell, off Rafter's Road, Drimnagh, had 16 previous convictions, including one relating to drugs. He was convicted after a two day trial in January. The jury found him guilty of possessing heroin for supply and simple possession of it on January 17th, 1996. He was also convicted of possessing a small amount of cannabis on the same date.
In mitigation, his defence counsel said Russell, whose father was an alcoholic, had a long history of drug abuse. He had been addicted to glue sniffing at eight, sleeping tablets at 13 and heroin at 17. However, since going into custody he had not been abusing drugs and was using the educational facilities in Mountjoy, the court heard.