Man stored €50,000 drugs in cardboard box at his Louth home

By Francis Carroll, The Drogheda Independent

Gardaí found almost 50,000 illicit tablets in the sitting room when they searched a house in Drogheda, the circuit court has been told.

Blister packs of Clonazolam were in a cardboard box at the Rathmullen Park, Drogheda home of Savino Oregano (45).

He pleaded guilty to a charge of allowing his premises to be used for the storage of drugs. Taken into consideration were charges of possession and possession for sale or supply of drugs.

The defendant, described as a vulnerable person who lives alone, got €50 for holding the stash.

Det Gda Dean Hyland said that Gardaí found Mr Oregano asleep on a couch when they put the door in and entered the property on March 9, 2024.

In a cardboard box in the sitting room were blister packs of 49,855 tablets valued €49,855.

Following his arrest, the defendant was forthcoming. He said he didn’t know what was in the box which had been given to him by a man who said that his sister would be around to collect it. He got €50.

A single father of four children, he told Gardaí that when his fiance passed away in 2020 he was offered cocaine and took it, “the worst mistake of my life”.

There were 39 previous convictions, including one for Section 3 possession of drugs.

The officer agreed with defence counsel that Mr Oregano had no involvement in the original criminality.

Barrister Stephen Faulkner, instructed by solicitor Paul Moore, said that the defendant’s guilty plea was of assistance.

He worked in landscaping on an ad hoc basis and has been clean of drugs for around 13 months.

Judge Dara Hayes said Mr Oregano accepted that he was reckless and ought to have known better.

He might well have had a defence to the charge. He certainly was reckless. He was aware the other man was not a law-abiding person.

The defendant took cannabis in his teens and cocaine after the death of his partner in 2020. His only adult child was in court.

The Probation Service assessed him at high risk of reoffending.

An 18-month sentence was suspended for 18 months.

Conditions include that he go under Probation Service supervision for 12 months and not possess or use any illicit substances.