Louth men ran ‘online drugs supermarket’ for organised crime gang
Two men who ran an ‘online drugs supermarket’ as part of the Boylan Organised Crime Group have been jailed.
Dean Thornton (28), regarded as the more senior of the two, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years, and Gary Kelly (31) for six years and 9 months, when they appeared before Dundalk Circuit Court.
The two men, both with addresses in Moneymore, Drogheda, pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of a criminal organisation.
Thornton also admitted one count of money laundering, and Kelly two charges of possession of drugs for sale or supply.
Other charges were taken into consideration.
Evidence was given that they operated between July 2023 and December 2024 what was effectively an online supermarket for drugs called “Poundland” with the help of other “Poundland workers”.
An image from a music video by ‘Dean Thornton AMF’ - picture from Instagram
It had a logo which was prominently displayed in videos of Dean Thornton, a reputed “Rap” artist.
MMA fighters had been approached to wear the logo.
It also appeared on drug packages sold to undercover gardaí as part of the investigation.
Their personal usernames had the letters AMF at the end which the court heard stood for “anti-Maguire faction”, a reference to the other side of the Drogheda feud.
Customers of “Poundland” would get weekly messages through social media about what drugs were available.
Thornton, who had no legitimate source of income, was in charge, and it was all connected to a senior member of the OCG.
The court heard that Dean Thornton has 18 previous convictions. including possession of drugs for sale or supply and assault causing harm.
He had written a letter of apology, while there was a letter from his long-term partner, the mother of his daughter.
A probation report outlined how he grew up in Moneymore. His parents separated.
He had worked as a plasterer with his father, and was last employed in 2020 in a factory.
Thornton “identified” as a rapper which gardaí said was a marketing tool for his drug dealing.
He has been in custody since his arrest in January 2025 and has been assessed at “very high risk” of reoffending.
There were three disclipinary breaches during his spell in custody relating to cannabis and smartphones which had been found in a shared cell rather than on him.
The breaches don’t necessarily attribute the possession of those items to him it was noted.
Gary Kelly was arrested at the same time. He has 85 previous convictions, including for drug tafficking in Spain and 38 burglaries in Ireland.
He said that he was following directions in these matters. That didn’t appear to have been borne out, the court said, but he was the less senior of the two defendants.
His probation report said that he grew up in Moneymore after being adopted by his maternal aunt. He didn’t know his father until the age of 9.
He fell into criminality at a young age.
Like his co-accused he indicated that he was now drug-free.
Judge Dara Hayes remarked that this was serious offending over an extended period by two prominent members of the OCG, the evidence stated.
They ran a sub-cell of the OCG, selling drugs and money laundering via social media accounts, “using workers for that illegal enteprise”.
There was also evidence that they were engaged in debt enforcement.
Judge Hayes continued that the two men were not “snared by addiction”. They were clearly prominent members of the OCG which played a significant role in drugs distribution in Louth and Meath, and was a “particular scourge” in Drogheda.
Dean Thornton was sentenced to 8 years and 9 months for participating in organised crime and 5 years concurrent for money laundering, the final 15 months suspended, and backdated to January 23, 2025, leaving seven-and-a-half years jail time.
Gary Kelly got eight years for the substantive charge, along with concurrent five-and-a-half year terms for the two Section 15 charges.
Again, the final 15 months were suspended, and backdated to January 23, 2025, which amounts to six years and nine months in prison.