Six month suspended sentence for having drugs for sale or supply

Responding to a plea for leniency for a defendant who appeared before Tullamore District Court last Wednesday for having drugs for sale or supply in his home, Judge Andrew Cody said, "these are serious offences and you are not going into custody."

Before the court was Jack Claffey (21) with an address at 136 Cois na hAbhainn, Moate in County Westmeath.

Sgt. Kearns, court presenter, told the court that on June 17, 2024 the Gardaí stopped and searched Mr Claffey and found €144 of drugs on his person and in a further search at his residence Gardaí found cannabis valued at €1,993.

Sgt. Kearns said he has no previous convictions and was co-operative with Gardaí during their investigation and pleads guilty to the charges.

Solicitor for the defendant, Patrick Martin, told the court his client was accompanied to the court sitting by his mother, whom he said has provided "support and stability". He has also provided drug analysis reports, which detected no controlled substances as part of co-operating with the probation service.

Mr. Martin said his client has recently begun further education and has engaged with drug rehabilitation support services. He is not currently working, but has done some voluntary work in his community. The drug was for his personal use and Mr Martin pleaded for leniency for the 21-year-old man.

After reviewing the defendant's probation reports, Judge Andrew Cody convicted the defendant and sentenced him to six months in prison for having drugs in his home for sale or supply in contravention of Section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

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Judge Cody suspended the prison sentence for three years on the defendant's own bond of €100. He must engage with the probation service for a further 12-months and avail of all substance misuse training. The Judge took all other matters into consideration.

Responding to a plea for leniency, Judge Cody said, "these are serious offences and you are not going into custody"