Paul Slevin pleads guilty to cannabis cultivation

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Paul Slevin pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis plants at Ballygall Road East, Finglas, Dublin 11, on 12 April 2015. The proceedings at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court were reported on 5 October 2018.

The court heard that a search of the apartment uncovered 29 cannabis plants in a black tent, along with heat lamps and a large water butt. Testing indicated that the plants were not ready for harvest but would be worth €800 each when mature, giving a total value of €23,200.

Detective Garda David Sheffield said Slevin had arrived at a Garda station extremely drunk. Slevin told gardaí that a lodger had begun growing the plants, changed the locks and forced him to sleep on the sofa. He said he had been ordered to tell nobody about the plants.

Sheffield told defence counsel Seamus Clarke SC that he believed Slevin had invented the story because his tenancy was ending and he had nowhere to store the plants. The detective said gardaí found letters addressed to Slevin saying his tenancy was being terminated and asking him to leave.

During cross-examination, Sheffield agreed with Clarke that it was highly unusual for someone to arrive at a Garda station and own up in this way. Clarke sought credit for Slevin's guilty plea, for handing the plants to gardaí and for taking steps to address his addiction. He said Slevin had no previous convictions.

Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned sentencing until 12 October. The maximum sentence for the offence was 14 years' imprisonment.