Courts / Dublin / Report
Man was holding €100k in tablets to pay off debt from previous bust, court hears
Summary
Paul Molloy, 44, a father of six, was found holding 56,000 tablets of the restricted drug Zopliclone, valued at €112,000, in a garden shed at his home in Hillcrest Park, Glasnevin, Dublin. He had previously been sentenced in 2014 to seven years for possession of over €30,000 of cannabis and was on bail for that offence when the tablets were discovered. Molloy pleaded guilty to possession of Zopliclone without a prescription on 5 November 2014. His defence counsel argued that he owed €8,000 in debt from the earlier cannabis seizure and that the tablets were intended to reduce that debt by €500. The court, considering his family status, late onset of crime, and prior convictions, imposed a 16‑month sentence consecutive to his existing seven‑year term. The judge applied the totality principle and noted the sentence would be consecutive to the current sentence. The case was heard in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Man was holding €100k in tablets to pay off debt from previous bust, court hears. Charges or matters: possession of the restricted product Zopliclone without a prescription at his home on November 5, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 5, 2014 Incident
- 2017-03-23 Publication
Why: She said he was educating himself in order to work towards a better life and was improving his fitness. CNI source report
Case subjects
Background Person
Charges: possession of the restricted product Zopliclone without a prescription at his home on November 5, 2014 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Paul Molloy (44) is currently serving a seven-year sentence imposed in 2014 for possession of over €30,000 of cannabis. Counsel said Molloy was due for release from the seven year sentence in 2020 and asked the court to leave her client "light at the end of the tunnel." Judge Martin Nolan noted that whatever term he imposed for the new offence would have to be consecutive to the current seven year sentence.
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