'When I sleep, I dream of Roulette': gambling addict moved €470k in drugs on bus

An eighty-year-old man with a gambling addiction pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of drugs worth nearly €471,000 for sale or supply. The defendant, from Belfast, was intercepted at Busaras in Dublin on 11 October 2021 after arriving by bus from Donegal. Gardaí discovered MDMA concealed in pottery boxes and beneath children's toys. The accused told gardaí he was transporting the consignment to pay gambling debts, describing his compulsive condition by saying he dreamed of roulette while sleeping. He had previously received a three-year suspended sentence in Letterkenny in 2013 for cannabis cultivation and possession. Defence counsel characterised his role as that of a courier and submitted medical evidence of the defendant's health challenges, including diabetes, asthma, and dementia. Judge Mary O'Malley Costello noted the seriousness of drug offences whilst acknowledging his vulnerabilities, guilty plea, and cooperation. She sentenced him to four years imprisonment, suspending the final ten months, with credit given for ten months spent on remand.