Courts / Dublin / Report

Five year sentence for man who held cannabis to pay off drugs debt

Summary

James Butler, aged 33, was sentenced by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to five years' imprisonment, with two and a half years suspended, for possessing 1.3 kg of cannabis herb. The drug, valued at €27,424, was found in his Tallaght home on 3 April 2013 after Gardaí forced entry. It was hidden in two sport bags, one in a wardrobe and one in the attic, with weighing scales and individual drug bags in a sweet tin. Butler admitted to holding the cannabis to pay off a heroin‑related debt, stating he had stopped using heroin just before Christmas that year but still owed money. He claimed he did not know the drugs' value and that he had not attracted Garda attention since his arrest. The judge imposed the sentence with strict conditions on the suspended portion. James Butler pleaded guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Five year sentence for man who held cannabis to pay off drugs debt. Charges or matters: having 1.3 Kg of the drug at his home on April 3, 2013. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• April 3, 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
• Christmas Other
• 2015-03-06 Publication

Why: A man who held over €27,000 worth of cannabis herb in order to pay off a debt he had run up from abusing heroin has been sentenced to five years. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report