Courts / Tipperary / Report
'Upper echelon' dealer has €1m cash and drugs sentence almost doubled
Summary
James Curtis, 51, of Reiska, Kilcommon, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, was sentenced by the Court of Appeal to ten years' imprisonment, back‑dated to 30 October 2020, after the original eight‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence was quashed. The appeal was brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions, who argued the sentence was too lenient. Curtis was caught red‑handed in a field near his home with a potato bag containing 5 kg of cocaine, a barrel with 4.25 kg of cocaine and €41,000 in cash, and a plastic Penneys bag with €336,000. He pleaded guilty to possessing €647,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply and to being in possession of €376,550, knowing or recklessly ignoring whether the money was the proceeds of criminal conduct.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'Upper echelon' dealer has €1m cash and drugs sentence almost doubled. Charges or matters: possessing €647,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply, contrary to Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act; being in possession of €376,550, knowing or being reckless as to whether the money was the proceeds of criminal conduct. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- October 30, 2020 Incident
- October 2021 Incident
- 2022-07-29 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: possessing €647,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply, contrary to Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act; being in possession of €376,550, knowing or being reckless as to whether the money was the proceeds of criminal conduct (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Taking into account all mitigating factors including Curtis's guilty plea, he said it is: "Not possible to conclude that the imposition of a sentence of at least ten years would have been unjust." The new ten-year sentence imposed by the court was backdated to October 30, 2020 when Curtis first went into custody. Curtis was jailed at Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court in October 2021.
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