Man was delivering drugs when delivering food in Cork

A 37-year-old man delivering food in Cork started dealing drugs through his work and now he has been given a suspended three-year sentence.

Detective Sergeant Kieran O’Sullivan said at the sentencing hearing at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “He was delivering drugs when he was delivering food — that was his MO.” However, this modus operandi was detected by gardaí and when they searched the address on Gerald Griffin St, Cork, where Tulio Alfonso Nunes De Melo was living, they found various drugs.

They found cannabis herb worth more than €5,000, cannabis resin worth €178, MDMA tablets with a street value of €410, together with €2,400 cash — the proceeds of drug-dealing.

“He is a Brazilian national on a European passport with nothing (by way of criminal convictions) before or since. He was not gaining financially. He was using it for his own drug use.

“He has been working full-time and was never a financial burden on the state. He started smoking cannabis in Brazil and wants to get clean of it. His plan is to return to Brazil as soon as possible,” Det Sgt O’Sullivan said.

He pleaded guilty to charges including possession of cannabis for the purpose of sale or supply at Gerald Griffin St on May 24, 2023.

Judge Helen Boyle noted he had effectively rehabilitated himself and she said she would suspend the prison sentence in its entirety.

Noting the defendant’s indication that he wished to return to Brazil the judge said she would not make any court order in respect of that.