Courts / Dublin / Report

International drug trafficker gets nine years over €1m heroin bust

Date
2020-06-19

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Rathcoole

County
Dublin

Summary

Ali Adnan Duran, 52, was sentenced to nine years in prison after a court in Dublin found him in possession of nearly €1 million worth of heroin. The drugs were discovered in a suitcase in his room at a bed‑and‑breakfast on Mill Road, Rathcoole, following a Garda surveillance operation in August 2019. Duran had previously been convicted in Turkey in 2016 for trafficking 59 kg of heroin and had a bench warrant pending for another offence. He pleaded guilty to possession for sale or supply of heroin. The judge, noting Duran's cooperation with the investigation and his admissions, set a nine‑year term, back‑dated to August 2019, departing from the mandatory ten‑year minimum for the offence. The sentence reflects the court's discretion under the statutory framework for drug‑related offences.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: International drug trafficker gets nine years over €1m heroin bust. Charges or matters: trafficking 59 kilos of heroin in a Turkish court in January 2016 and received a 12.5-year prison sentence; possession for sale or supply of heroin at Mill Road, Rathcoole on August 31, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

January 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
August 2019 Incident
August 31, 2019 Incident
2020-06-19 Publication

Why: Paddy McGrath SC, defending, said that Duran was afraid of being arrested on the bench warrant because he believed he would be deported back to Turkey to face the prison sentence there. Defence account reported by CNI

Case subjects

Ali Adnan Duran

Convicted Person

Charges: trafficking 59 kilos of heroin in a Turkish court in January 2016 and received a 12.5-year prison sentence; possession for sale or supply of heroin at Mill Road, Rathcoole on August 31, 2019 (Proven)

Plea: Guilty

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; Ali Adnan Duran (52) was convicted of trafficking 59 kilos of heroin in a Turkish court in January 2016 and received a 12.5-year prison sentence. Paddy McGrath SC, defending, said that Duran was afraid of being arrested on the bench warrant because he believed he would be deported back to Turkey to face the prison sentence there.