Student caught with €3.4k of cocaine in Cork unsuccessful in attempt to overturn conviction
Tadhg Carroll had hoped to get the benefit of a dismissal under the Probation of Offenders Act in light of the fact that it was his first ever offence.
A Tipperary student in Cork who was caught with €3,479 worth of cocaine was unsuccessful in his attempt to overturn his conviction on appeal.
The appellant’s barrister, Orla Meere, submitted to Cork Circuit Appeals Court that the event that occurred more than two years ago was the only time that the young man was convicted of any offence.
Ms Meere said the he was sharing the drugs with friends at the time and that the drug-dealing conviction against him was one that he was anxious to avoid from the point of view of his future career and travels.
Tadhg Carroll pleaded guilty to charges at Cork District Court and what was under appeal were the convictions themselves.
He had hoped to get the benefit of a dismissal under the Probation of Offenders Act in light of the fact that it was his first ever offence.
“He has not come to the attention of gardaí for or since. I am told he was collecting drugs for friends… It was naïve. He has started a job and he is doing well. He has remorse and shame for his actions,” Ms Meere said.
Judge Helen Boyle refused the appeal and said she could not apply the probation act where it went beyond simple drugs possession.
On the basic question of whether the appeal court could be more lenient than the district court in this case, the judge answered her own question: “I don’t see any room for manoeuvre so I am not going to accede to the application.”
In the district court, Tadhg Carroll of 16 Springfield, Clonmel, County Tipperary, was given a nine-month suspended sentence and was ordered to do 240 hours of community service.
He pleaded guilty to charges including having the drug for sale or supply.
Sergeant Gearóid Davis said that on October 22 2021 at Wilton Lawn, Glasheen, County Cork, an Audi AV was stopped by Detective Garda David Hickey.
The defendant who is 23 was questioned. He had €3,479 of cocaine, a weighing scales and plastic baggies. He also had cash - €300 in six €50 notes -which he said he received as payment for dropping off cocaine at a house minutes before speaking to gardaí.
App?
