A man who was found in a shed where counterfeit vodka was distilled and bottled "for two men with Northern accents" and "the lads" escaped a custodial prison sentence at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
In all enough illegal vodka to fill 5,000 standard bottles was found, along with equipment and dirty glass bottles for reuse in the operation, when the Customs special investigations unit raided a shed in Castletowncooley, a remote part of the Cooley Peninsula.
Before the court was Brian Smyth snr (62), of Millgrange, Greenore, Co Louth, who was in the shed when Customs raided it and another shed at his home on December 4th, 2004. He admitted a single charge of dealing with excisable product contrary to section 113 of the Finance Act.
Smyth told investigating officer Paul Garland the shed was leased to two men. When the lease was produced it had two other names on it and the officer said "a lot of the writing on the lease was very similar so I had it forensically analysed". The handwriting expert concluded the two alleged signatures on the lease were made by the accused.
The names of the men who Smyth said had leased it were checked with Revenue and Garda records "and there is no record of them. They don't exist," Mr Garland told State prosecuting counsel Kevin Seagrave.
In the small shed measuring just 60 feet by 40 feet Customs found a double sink used to wash the old bottles for reuse and a 1,000 litres steel drum where there was high-strength neutral alcohol mixed down with water.
There was also 1,000 litres of ethanol of 94.5 per cent strength, another container of 25 litres of neutral ethanol, a capping machine, charcoal filtering devices and distillation units.
There were counterfeit Smirnoff and Glen's vodka brand labels and in the shed at Smyth's home they found the metal closures for sealing the bottles as well as an expensive and sophisticated printer used to impress the Smirnoff logo on to the bottle caps.
Mr Garland described Smyth as literally "the chief bottle washer" who did "the dirty work". Smyth said he was doing the work for "the lads" and they gave him about €100 for a day's work. Mr Garland said he believed Smyth was paid in cash and said "he does not appear on the Revenue system for some time".
Judge Michael O'Shea was told that the entire value of the alcohol seized, including VAT and excise duty, was €65,767.13.
Judge O'Shea said it was "unfortunate" that "the untouchables" who headed up the operation were not there when it was raided. He imposed a two-year jail term but suspended it on Smyth entering into a bond to be of good behaviour for three years.