Courts / Dublin / Report

Judge takes "unusual step" of imposing suspended sentence on man pressured into delivering over €120k in cannabis

Date
2017-03-22

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 22 March 2017, Judge Martin Nolan imposed a suspended five‑year sentence on 31‑year‑old Brian O'Grady, who pleaded guilty to possessing 20 kg of cannabis resin worth €122,000. O'Grady had delivered the drugs to two men travelling from Cork to Dublin in order to help his step‑brother pay a €2,000 drug debt. The judge noted O'Grady's "huge error of judgment" and low moral culpability, describing his motive as misguided. O'Grady's father, who had been abandoned as a baby and later reunited with him, broke down in tears. The judge said the suspended sentence was an "unusual step" and he would be unlikely to repeat it. The case highlighted the pressure drug dealers place on family members to carry out illicit acts. The other two men involved received seven‑year and two‑year sentences. The court found O'Grady a low risk of re‑offending.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Judge takes "unusual step" of imposing suspended sentence on man pressured into delivering over €120k in cannabis. Charges or matters: one count of possessing cannabis resin for sale or supply at Aldi car park in Finglas on February 12 last year. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

February 12 Incident
2017-03-22 Publication

Why: A Dublin man who was pressured into delivering over €120,000 worth of cannabis in order to pay off his younger brother's drug debt has avoided jail. CNI source report

Case subjects

Brian O'Grady

Defendant

Charges: one count of possessing cannabis resin for sale or supply at Aldi car park in Finglas on February 12 last year (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Brian O'Grady's father broke down in tears in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court when Judge Martin Nolan said he would take the "unusual step" of departing from the mandatory minimum 10-year jail term and instead handed down a suspended five-year sentence. Handing down a suspended sentence, Judge Nolan said: "It's an unusual step and I'm unlikely to repeat it in the future".