A BRAY man who pleaded guilty to a charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act has been jailed at Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court in Bray for three years.
Philip Hipwell (27), Dargle Heights, Fasseroe, Bray, was before the court yesterday for possession of cannabis for the purpose of sale or supply more than two years ago.
He had 46 previous convictions, seven of them under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
The case arose out of gardaí finding cannabis plants three houses away from Hipwell’s home in Dargle Heights, where a woman named Niamh Murdiff lived.
The court heard that on foot of a search warrant on November 24th, 2008, gardaí found 90 cannabis plants in three rows of trays in the attic of Murdiff’s home. The plants were fully-grown and the cannabis was valued at €18,000.
Garda John Deasy said there was a lot of equipment and it had appeared to be a commercial set-up. They examined the items and found Hipwell’s fingerprints on the trap-door, equipment and pots.
Judge Michael O’Shea said the sale or supply of drugs was causing ruin, devastation and destruction to drug addicts and their families.
He said Hipwell was certainly a serious and major player and would have been aware of the significance of his involvement in setting up this elaborate system.
In a separate case, Murdiff was handed down a suspended two-year prison sentence for cultivating cannabis plants at her home in November 2008.
The court heard she had started taking cocaine with a number of people and had gotten into debt. She could not pay and was threatened over what would happen if she did not pay. She was told her house would be burned down.
Murdiff allowed her home to be used by other people and had a key cut for them so they could enter when she was not there. She was placed on a bond to be of good behaviour for three years.