Cathal Murtagh's drug sentence held unduly lenient

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

Cathal Murtagh's five-year sentence for a drug offence was held unduly lenient by the Court of Appeal, which allowed the DPP's appeal.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court imposed the sentence on 6 March 2012 for an offence under section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. He pleaded guilty. The proceedings were reported on 25 June 2015.

Customs officers found him opening a unit on the Malahide Road on 20 April 2011 during cigarette-smuggling enquiries. Cannabis resin, cannabis herb and MDMA tablets seized from the unit and a van had a total market value of €3,582,778.

Garda evidence outlined his account of taking work moving boxes for €50 or €60 a day. He said he only later discovered they contained drugs and, when he asked to stop, was told he could not walk away. A Garda agreed he lacked the means to finance the operation.

The sentencing judge relied on his early plea, co-operation, good history, limited involvement and small reward to depart from the presumptive ten-year minimum. He had no previous convictions.

The DPP argued that the judge had failed to assess the offence's seriousness and gave excessive weight to mitigation. Murtagh argued that increasing his sentence nearly three years later would be unjust, having been on Community Release since September 2014.

The court's President accepted he was a minor player but said the plea was not exceptionally significant because he had been caught acting as if in charge, and he had given false information. The President found it difficult to accept that he misunderstood the operation and found he acted for money, without addiction or coercion.

The court found an error in principle and sought updated material before imposing an appropriate sentence. It would consider any allowance for anguish caused by a further period in prison.