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Gardai who stopped driver for using phone found €250k in crime cash
Summary
In a traffic stop on Lombard Street, Gardaí observed Barry Blackmore, 32, playing on his phone and acting nervously. He was found to be concealing an electric key fob in his underwear, which opened a hidden compartment behind the air vent on his car's dashboard. The compartment contained €250,030 in cash, identified as criminal proceeds. Blackmore was arrested on suspicion of money‑laundering. He pleaded guilty and cooperated with the investigation, citing fear for his life and that of his family. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to three and a half years' imprisonment, reduced from a headline six‑year sentence due to his cooperation and guilty plea. The court ordered the €250,000 forfeited to the State and the vehicle forfeited and destroyed. Blackmore's background includes 32 prior convictions, 17 for traffic offences, and he is a landscaper and father of five.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Gardai who stopped driver for using phone found €250k in crime cash. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- February 3, 2021 Incident
- 2023-02-10 Publication
Why: Garda Paul Cummins told John Quirke BL, prosecuting, that gardaí stopped Blackmore on Lombard Street in Dublin 2 because he was "playing with his phone" while in a queue in traffic. CNI source report
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Outcome: Barry Blackmore (32) was sentenced to three and a half years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for laundering €250,000 in criminal proceeds on February 3, 2021. Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of six years but reduced this on account of Blackmore's good mitigation including his guilty plea and his cooperation with the investigation.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Dublin District Court
- Ashlawn Park
- Dublin
- Lombard Street
- Dublin
Topics
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