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Paraplegic woman avoids jail over €26k drugs raid after court hears home was being used by criminals
Summary
On 18 November 2022, Nicola Smart, 42, pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply and to possessing €3,725 of proceeds of crime in her Prospect Hill home. Gardaí found €24,000 worth of cocaine, €1,160 of cannabis and zopiclone tablets in a garden shed, and a small amount of cannabis in her bedroom. The court heard that Smart's home was being used by criminals to store drugs, and that the drugs were on a top shelf in the shed, a location difficult for her to access because she is in a wheelchair. Smart has two prior convictions for minor traffic offences. She is a paraplegic, a former heroin and cocaine user who suffered a stroke in 2017, and her adult daughter is her carer. The judge, recognising her low culpability and health issues, imposed a three‑year sentence suspended in full under a number of conditions.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Paraplegic woman avoids jail over €26k drugs raid after court hears home was being used by criminals. Charges or matters: one count of possession drugs for sale or supply in her home at Prospect Hill, Finglas Dublin 11 on November 18, 2022; possessing €3,725, the proceeds of crime, on the same date. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 18, 2022 Incident
- 2025-11-11 Publication
Why: "Because she is in a wheelchair, it would have been difficult for her to place the drugs on the top shelf," Gda Graham said. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: one count of possession drugs for sale or supply in her home at Prospect Hill, Finglas Dublin 11 on November 18, 2022; possessing €3,725, the proceeds of crime, on the same date (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He handed down a three-year sentence which he suspended in full on a number of conditions.
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