A Louth man who had €750,000 worth of cocaine and heroin has been remanded on bail by Judge Desmond Hogan pending sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Kieran Boylan (34), of Rockfield, Ardee, was caught in a "Garda stakeout" when receiving a shipment of drugs from a lorrydriver at a garage in Dublin Port. The lorry-driver is due to be sentenced next year.
Boylan pleaded guilty to possession of heroin, worth an estimated €500,000 and cocaine worth an estimated €204,000, on December 2nd, 2003, with intent to sell or supply.
Det Garda Declan O'Brien told Fergal Foley, prosecuting, the heroin was found at a garage on the docks, while the cocaine was found at Louth premises, not Boylan's home address.
Boylan, who had a previous drug conviction in England where he was jailed for 7½ years for possession of cannabis resin in 1997, told gardaí he had received instructions to pick up the packages and deliver them to a third man in Louth.
Det Garda O'Brien said €30,000 in cash was found in premises in Drumcar in Co Louth and €12,000 in cash in a microwave oven at Moorhall, Ardee.
He agreed with Mr George Birmingham (with Mr Michael Bowmann), defending, that Boylan fully believed the heroin he was collecting was in fact cocaine, and this indicated he was not in the hierarchy of the operation.
He accepted that Boylan was in debt and under duress from his English associates who were involved in the previous drug conviction. They felt that because he "lost their property" he owed them money to cover their loss. Boylan got involved in this offence to try and pay them back.
A third man in Louth, who was acting as the distributor of the drugs, was sentenced to three years in prison by Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court last April for his involvement in the operation.