Courts / Dublin / Report

7-year sentence over "enormous" €4m drug dealing hub too lenient, court finds

Summary

Stephen Sarsfield, 39, of New Street Gardens, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to possessing €4,170,932 of cannabis and heroin for sale or supply at an address on Ballyfermot Drive on 17 July 2017. He had four minor previous convictions. The Court of Appeal increased his original seven‑year sentence to ten years. The appeal court found the original sentence unduly lenient given the "enormous scale of the activity". Sarsfield was caught with 300 times the amount of drugs required for a minimum sentence of ten years. He had an early guilty plea but offered no material assistance. The Court of Appeal set the term at ten years, noting that a longer sentence could be justified but the minimum was deemed appropriate in this case. The decision was delivered by Mr Justice George Birmingham, with Ms Justice Maire Whelan and Mr Justice Pat McCarthy.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 7-year sentence over "enormous" €4m drug dealing hub too lenient, court finds. Charges or matters: possessing €4,170,932 of cannabis and heroin for sale or supply at an address on Ballyfermot Drive, on July 17, 2017. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• July 17, 2017 Incident
• April 10, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2019-10-15 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report