THE COURT of Criminal Appeal (CCA) has increased from one to five years the prison sentence imposed on a Liverpool man for his part in a drug deal in north Co Dublin involving almost €600,000 worth of cocaine stuffed in a lorry load of quilts.
Last February Brian Thompson (48), a father of three, of Silverwell Road, Croxteth, Liverpool, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to conspiring with others to having cocaine worth €585,000 at Lusk, Co Dublin, on September 14th, 2006.
Judge Katherine Delahunt sentenced Thompson to five years imprisonment, but suspended the last four years.
In an appeal to the CCA yesterday, the DPP argued the sentence was unduly lenient given the amount of drugs involved.
Counsel for Thompson argued the sentence was imposed by an experienced judge and should stand.
Thompson had pleaded guilty at an early stage, taken steps to rehabilitate himself and only got involved in drugs after his long-term relationship had ended, it was submitted.
The three-judge CCA, with Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns presiding and sitting with Mr Justice Daniel Herbert and Mr Justice Eamon de Valera, agreed the sentence was unduly lenient and increased it to five years with no period of suspension.
Mr Justice Kearns said the original sentence was "grossly inadequate" in the circumstances. While Thompson had pleaded guilty at an early stage, he had been caught red-handed by the gardaí.
The trial had heard that, during a Garda surveillance operation, Thompson was observed driving to Lusk, where he met two men in a lorry.
Thompson got out of his car and walked over to the lorry carrying a shoulder bag, out of which he took a white plastic package and handed it to one of two men in the lorry.
The plastic bag Thompson had was found to contain almost €85,000 in cash, while the lorry was found to contain quilts and brown packages containing cocaine.