Courts / Dublin / Report

58-year-old builder jailed for stashing €1m in drugs in Southside home

Date
2023-05-18

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A 58‑year‑old former construction worker, John Reeves, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for possession of cocaine and heroin for sale or supply at his Dublin Southside home. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 20 October 2022. During a search of his residence, Gardaí discovered a pink suitcase containing eight small blocks of heroin and seven blocks of cocaine, each block weighing about half a kilogram for heroin and one kilogram for cocaine. The heroin was valued at roughly €560,000 and the cocaine at about €490,000. Reeves admitted he had taken possession of the suitcase in a shopping centre car park, claiming he thought it contained cannabis and was unaware of the drugs inside. He stated he had addiction issues and financial difficulties, including a €3,000 drug debt, and that his family was not involved. He had no prior convictions and had not attracted negative Garda attention before this incident.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 58-year-old builder jailed for stashing €1m in drugs in Southside home. Charges or matters: possession of cocaine and heroin for sale or supply at the same address on October 20, 2022. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

October 20, 2022 Incident
2023-05-18 Publication

Why: The garda witness accepted that Reeves would have had no control over the nature or quantity of drugs he was asked to hold in order to reduce a drugs debt of €3,000. CNI source report