Courts / Dublin / Report
Aspiring British DJ and former Ibiza chauffeur jailed over €196k cannabis possession
Summary
Michael Coughlan, a 29‑year‑old British national, was sentenced to four years in prison for possessing 9.8 kg of cannabis worth €196,554 at Dublin Airport on 22 January 2015. He admitted responsibility and pleaded guilty at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Garda Mark McDaid reported that customs officials discovered the drugs when they x‑rayed his luggage shortly after his arrival from Barcelona. Coughlan had no prior convictions. The prosecution highlighted that he had accrued a €10,000 cocaine debt while working as a chauffeur for a concierge company catering to high‑end tourists in Ibiza, and that he had become dependent on cocaine. The defence argued that he was fully cooperative and had entered an early guilty plea. Judge Martin Nolan accepted that Coughlan was unlikely to re‑offend, described the case as a "one‑off fall from grace," and imposed the four‑year sentence, back‑dated to the date of his arrest.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Aspiring British DJ and former Ibiza chauffeur jailed over €196k cannabis possession. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- January 22, 2015 Incident
- 2015-06-12 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Outcome: Judge Nolan acknowledged that Coughlan was unlikely to re-offend and that he could deal with the matter as a "one-off fall from grace." He imposed a four year sentence, backdated to when Coughlan entered custody on the date of the offence.
Places mentioned
Topics
Airport Incidents Drugs Stage Sentence
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