Courts / Dublin / Report
Taxi driver pressurised into moving €300k in drugs
Summary
A 43‑year‑old taxi driver, Keith Banks of Castleknock, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing drugs for sale or supply and to having €19,000 in cash from criminal conduct. He admitted that he was pressured to transport almost €300,000 worth of drugs, including cannabis worth €135,000 and cocaine worth €158,000, and that he had a drug debt. Garda Thomas McDaniel secured a warrant to search a Clonsilla property where Banks was found standing at a kitchen counter and throwing a white powder onto the floor. The Gardaí found the drugs in various locations. Banks claimed he was taken advantage of and that he had only a small role in the deliveries. Judge Melanie Greally, after hearing the evidence and a psychological report, imposed concurrent sentences totalling seven and a half years, suspending the final two and a half years on strict conditions, including 12 months of probation supervision upon release.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Taxi driver pressurised into moving €300k in drugs. Charges or matters: possessing the drugs for sale or supply and having the proceeds of criminal conduct, just over €19,000 in cash, on August 1, 2020. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- August 1, 2020 Incident
- 2022-06-22 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: possessing the drugs for sale or supply and having the proceeds of criminal conduct, just over €19,000 in cash, on August 1, 2020 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Today she imposed concurrent sentences totalling seven and a half years for the two offences.; Judge Greally had adjourned the case for a week having heard the evidence, to allow her time to consider a psychological report before the court. "Realistically speaking, he had a key role in relation to people who had been drug dealing.
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