The Court of Appeal has dismissed a Director of Public Prosecutions appeal against sentences imposed on Mohamed Adeagbo for possessing cocaine for sale or supply and money laundering.
The DPP argued that the wholly suspended sentence was unduly lenient and did not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offending or the need for deterrence. The court held that the sentence did not amount to a substantial or gross departure from an appropriate sentence in the circumstances.
Mr Adeagbo pleaded guilty to both offences on 21 April 2023. The offences followed a search at his Ballincollig address on 25 April 2022, where gardaí found 1.623kg of cocaine, estimated to have a street value of €113,610, along with cannabis, €1,530 in cash and an iPhone. He admitted possessing and controlling the cocaine for sale or supply, and said he acted as a storeman and delivery man for an unidentified third party, receiving about €500 a week. He also admitted that most of the cash was the proceeds of drug dealing. The court ordered the cash forfeited to the State and the drugs destroyed.
On 13 November 2024, the Circuit Criminal Court in Cork imposed a three-and-a-half-year sentence for the drug offence and suspended it in full for the same period. It also imposed a concurrent one-year sentence, fully suspended, for money laundering. The suspension was subject to a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, probation supervision and urinalysis as required for 18 months.
The sentencing judge set a five-year headline sentence for the drug offence, departing from the mandatory ten-year sentence, then reduced it by 18 months. The appeal court said the five-year headline sentence was not disputed. It also said the reduction, particularly in light of the signed guilty plea, was not inappropriate.
The DPP submitted that the sentencing judge had overemphasised mitigation and had not identified sufficiently specific exceptional circumstances to justify suspending the whole sentence. The respondent argued that his limited role, guilty pleas, cooperation and personal circumstances supported the sentence.
The appeal court recognised the seriousness of the offending, including the quantity of cocaine and Mr Adeagbo’s active role in its supply. It also considered the sentencing judge’s assessment that he had stopped using drugs, complied with probation requirements and made progress towards rehabilitation. The court concluded that a significant period in prison risked reversing that progress, and held that the judge was entitled to suspend the sentence in the exceptional circumstances she found. The appeal was dismissed.