Delivery driver faces sentence over drugs

The driver of a delivery van has confessed to receiving a postal package of over €54,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine concealed in a domestic appliance.

He will be sentenced at the sessions of Cork Circuit Criminal Court commencing on February 4.

Martin Lleshi, aged 31, signed a plea of guilty to the charges against him arising out of the case.

Detective Garda Emmet Long brought charges against Martin Lleshi of Bank Place, Mallow, Co Cork, the most serious of which was contrary to Section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years unless the judge finds there are exceptional circumstances.

This charge states that he had cocaine and cannabis with a combined value of over €54,000 for sale or supply at Glasheen Rd, Cork, on August 29, 2024. He was refused bail at Cork District Court and was also unsuccessful in his High Court appeal for bail.

Detective Garda Emmet Long objected to bail, stating that the Albanian national did not have ties to Ireland and would be a flight risk if given bail.

Detective Garda Long said there was a controlled delivery of the package in a joint operation carried out by a number of garda units and Revenue officers.

The detective testified at Cork District Court that the package contained a household appliance with a large amount of controlled substance inside. It was further stated that the owner of the address had no knowledge whatever of the package being delivered.

“If given bail, I believe the defendant would abscond and would be a serious flight risk,” Det Garda Long testified at an earlier hearing. 

“He has no ties to the community, and he is now unemployed. He said [to gardaí] that he absconded from Albania due to a threat on his life there. And he absconded from Greece, also due to a threat on his life. He was working as a delivery driver in Cork and photographing addresses at which deliveries could be made.”