Courts / Meath / Report

Son of retired garda gets eight years over €1.3m cocaine bust

Date
2020-06-24

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Ratoath

County
Meath

Summary

Graeme Burke, aged 34, was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment after he was found storing over €1.3 million worth of cocaine in a rented storage unit. He had leased the unit in his own name and used his personal documents to secure the lease. Two encrypted mobile phones were discovered in his possession; Garda Redmond O'Leary explained that such devices are costly to run and are typically used by organised crime gangs, making the information on them inaccessible to law enforcement. Burke pleaded guilty to possession of 19 kg of cocaine, valued at €1.336 million, at a storage facility on the N2 in Ashbourne. He had three prior convictions, including a four‑year suspended sentence for robbery in 2005. The judge noted that Burke's role involved storing, transporting and distributing the drugs and that he had been equipped with the encrypted phones. He was jailed for eight years.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Son of retired garda gets eight years over €1.3m cocaine bust. Charges or matters: possession of 19kg of the drug, worth an estimated €1.336 million at a storage facility on the N2 in Ashbourne, on January 30, 2020. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

January 30, 2020 Incident
August 27, 2005 Other
2020-06-24 Publication

Case subjects

Graeme Burke

Defendant

Charges: possession of 19kg of the drug, worth an estimated €1.336 million at a storage facility on the N2 in Ashbourne, on January 30, 2020 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: He is a mature man and should have known better," Judge Nolan commented before he jailed Burke for eight years.