'Extraordinary breach of trust': Former soldier jailed for stashing cocaine at Cork army barracks
Judge Dermot Sheehan said Shane Scanlon (pictured), 35, was active in drug-dealing, mixing cocaine and putting it into baggies for onward street distribution and was using a room to which he alone had access in Collins Barracks to store it. Picture: Dan Linehan
A former soldier was jailed for four years for stashing his €27,000 worth of cocaine at Collins Barracks in Cork in “an extraordinary breach of trust for a member of the defence forces using a facility of a state institution to protect it.”
Judge Dermot Sheehan said Shane Scanlon, 35, was active in drug-dealing, mixing cocaine and putting it into baggies for onward street distribution and was using a room to which he alone had access in Collins Barracks to store it.
The judge said today that unlike cases where dealing is uncovered as a result of confidential information about drug activities this was discovered first by army authorities at the barracks who immediately notified An Garda Síochána.
“It was contact from the authorities in Collins Barracks that caused the gardaí to act,” Judge Sheehan said.
The judge was concerned that this was not only a matter of storing drugs but of its active preparation. The probation service expressed concern about his apparent lack of empathy for others. Judge Sheehan said that was a concern shared by the court.
Detective Garda Derry O’Sullivan said that by his own admission the accused considered the barracks a safe haven for storing the cocaine.
Judge Sheehan commented on this: “The reason the barracks was chosen was – I suppose it is obvious – it is the main military installation in the south of Ireland, under military guard 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Access is controlled by military police – people cannot just walk into the barracks, it is under armed guard. That is why he stored it there.”
Detective Garda Derry O’Brien said the search of Room 31 at Collins Barracks was carried out on March 27 2024. While Mr Scanlon was living in Cobh he rented this room and was the sole occupant of it.
A stash of cocaine with a street value of €26,992 was discovered in the room at Collins Barracks on Old Youghal Road in Cork, along with €1,100 in cash, and numerous drug paraphernalia including a blender, weighing scales and bags. He took full ownership of the drugs and materials as soon as they were found.
“He admitted having the drugs for sale or supply… A follow-up search of his home was conducted and €2,250 in cash was seized there. He was not a drug user. And the sale of drugs was purely for monetary gain.
“His phone was examined and there was evidence of drug-dealing on his phone as far back as 2021. He was storing it in the barracks and he regarded it as a safe haven.” Det. Garda O’Brien said.
Defence senior counsel Ray Boland said that in light of the defendant’s particular family circumstances he was asking for a fully suspended prison sentence. Judge Sheehan said he was disinclined to do that as the legislature sought mandatory minimum sentences of ten years unless there were exceptional circumstances.
Shane Scanlon of Cooline Heights, Ballyvoloon, Cobh, County Cork, pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including possession of a controlled drug, namely cocaine, at Collins Barracks, Old Youghal Road in Cork for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another on March 27 2024. when its street value exceeded €13,000 – the charge which carries a ten-year minimum sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Mr Scanlon signed a plea of guilty to the drug-dealing charge and to money-laundering in respect of €2,250 at his home in Cobh and another sum of €1,100 at Collins Barracks.
Mr Scanlon finally pleaded guilty to possession of articles, namely a blender and weighing scales in circumstances giving rise to a reasonable inference that it was for the purpose of commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug trafficking offence.
Mr Boland said, “He is of previous good behaviour. He has resigned from the army after 18 years of otherwise exemplary service in the army.
“It brought shame on his unit and brought the army into disrepute and he is ashamed of that and remorseful.
“I would ask for his admissions and cooperation to be taken into consideration. The amount – though considerable – is at lower end for 15A (the charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act that carries the ten-year minimum term). This was done because he was under financial pressure.”
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