Wicklow man gets four-year jail term over €50,000 worth of cocaine

By Darragh McCann, The Wicklow People

A Wicklow man who claimed he was pressured into holding €50,000 worth of cocaine for a local criminal gang has received a four-year prison sentence, with the final 18 months suspended.

Craig Byrne (27), with an address in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow, appeared at Wicklow Circuit Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of drugs for the purpose of sale or supply.

James Kelly SC, counsel for the prosecution, told the court that on August 17, 2021, gardaí raided Mr Byrne’s home at Hawthorn Drive, Rathdrum, where they discovered €50,000 worth of cocaine.

The court was informed that no drug paraphernalia was found at the premises. Mr Byrne later told gardaí that he was holding the drugs under pressure from a local criminal gang due to an outstanding drug debt.

Mr Byrne has 15 previous convictions for various offences, including assault and burglary.

The court heard that he had served a four-year sentence at Midlands Prison for assaulting his former girlfriend.

Counsel for the defence, Gregory Murphy BL, told the court that his client was addicted to cocaine at the time of the offence and has since attended drug counselling.

The court was also told that Mr Byrne had come under pressure from a local gang, and that his father had previously been forced to pay thousands of euros to cover a debt Mr Byrne had incurred as a result of his cocaine habit.

Mr Murphy told the court that the defendant “was not engaged in dealing” and that a single clean urine analysis report was available. Judge Patrick Quinn remarked that “one urine analysis is simply not enough”.

The court heard that Mr Byrne has engaged with the Probation Service, but has missed several appointments in recent months.

He has also recently begun working with his father as a landscaper.

Mr Murphy told the court that his client had been subjected to an assault in August by the same gang who forced him into taking possession of the cocaine. Photographs were handed into court showing Mr Byrne’s injuries.

The defendant is now in a steady relationship with his new partner and has engaged in counselling with Merchants Quay.

Judge Quinn sentenced Mr Byrne to four years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended for 18 months.