Delivery driver in Cork who admitted receiving drugs worth over €54k to be sentenced this month

The driver of a delivery van who admitted receiving a postal package of over €54,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine concealed in a domestic appliance will be sentenced at the end of the month.

31-year-old Martin Lleshi appeared at Cork Circuit Criminal Court by video link from prison.

His senior counsel, Elizabeth O’Connell, applied for sentencing to take place before the end of the present sessions of the circuit court and asked for a prison governor’s report to be directed.

Judge Helen Boyle requested such a report and adjourned sentencing until February 28.

The accused man previously signed pleas 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, County 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 Road, 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 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.

“He was working as a delivery driver in Cork and photographing addresses at which deliveries could be made,” Det Garda Long testified at an earlier hearing