Cocaine dealer who worked at 'organised crime gang level' in Cork city jailed for three years

A cocaine dealer who admitted working at “an organised crime gang level” in Cork city has been jailed for three years.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of four years, with the last year suspended, on Gerard Quinlan, aged 41, of Gilabbey Mews, Connaught Ave, Cork, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

William Bulman, defence barrister, said the accused man indicated his plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity and applied for some structuring of the sentence to encourage him to engage with the services on his release.

Detective Garda Michael Walsh said a warrant was executed to search the defendant’s home on February 13, 2024, and they found cannabis, cocaine, weighing scales, and a mobile phone.

The main drug seized was the €5,700 worth of cocaine. Det Gda Walsh said the defendant admitted at interview that he was selling €5,000 to €6,000 worth of cocaine a week and was doing this to fund his own heavy addiction to cocaine.

He described to gardaí how he would sell cocaine at rates from €80 and up to €2,000, depending on the quantity required.

“He accepted he was operating at an organised crime gang level and there was no evidence on his phone of a debt or that he was acting under duress,” said Det Gda Walsh.

The accused received a suspended jail sentence in 2007 for cocaine dealing.

By his own admission, he has been addicted to cocaine for 20 years, and had gone into treatment on three separate occasions, but relapsed.

“He said he was taking so much cocaine he had to sell it to feed his habit,” the detective said.

Mr Bulman said the addiction was chronic and caused the breakdown of his relationship.

Judge Boyle said in imposing sentence: “You were dealing at an organised crime level. You were selling €5,000 to €6,000 worth of cocaine a week.

“You are a cocaine addict and made a number of attempts at rehabilitation, the most recent being 2020.

“It resulted in the loss of your marriage, and you fell back into addiction.

“Although the amount could be put at a lower end, the evidence is that you were dealing at a pretty high level.”