Andrew Lawlor’s jail term doubled after cocaine sentence appeal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal increased Andrew Lawlor’s sentence for cocaine possession to seven and a half years, suspending the final three and a half years and leaving four years to serve. The proceedings were reported on 27 November 2023.

Lawlor pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply. The offence took place on 11 July 2020 at Ashbourne Business Centre on Ballybin Road, Co Meath.

The court heard that the drugs had been brought by truck from the UK through Northern Ireland to Ashbourne and transferred to Lawlor’s van. Gardaí arrested both drivers after the handover. The cocaine weighed 17kg, was valued at €1.2 million and was found in a compartment in a hydraulic press bolted to the van’s floor.

At Trim Circuit Court in February, Judge Elva Duffy imposed four and a half years, suspending the final two and a half years. She took account of Lawlor’s guilty plea, personal circumstances and rehabilitation efforts. The truck driver was later jailed for 18 months.

On 27 November 2023, Carl Hanahoe BL successfully appealed Lawlor’s sentence for the State on grounds of undue leniency. Lawlor’s counsel, Roderick O’Hanlon SC, said his client had returned voluntarily to the Garda station and admitted possession. Counsel said Lawlor told gardaí he did not know the type of drugs and had been doing it for €1,000 and some cocaine after relapsing.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy quashed the original sentence, finding its six-and-a-half-year headline term unduly lenient. She set a 10-year headline, reduced it to seven and a half years in mitigation and suspended the final three and a half years to encourage rehabilitation.