Drugs "courier" in custody after appeal court quashes unduly lenient sentence

A man from Ballyshannon, County Donegal, has been remanded in custody following a Court of Appeal decision to quash his suspended sentence. Ciaran Lawn (43) had received a three-year wholly suspended sentence in July 2021 after pleading guilty to possession of a controlled substance for sale or supply. The offence occurred on December 15, 2019, when gardaí observed him moving approximately €840,000 worth of cannabis and €59,000 of cocaine near Ardee, County Louth. The Director of Public Prosecutions successfully appealed the sentence as unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal found that wholly suspended sentences required exceptional circumstances, which the court deemed absent in this case. Lawn's defence had submitted he was a courier living on social welfare with significant mental health issues at the time of the offence. His case will return before the court on May 12.