Grandfather jailed after using delivery driver job to transport €1.4m worth of drugs, court hears

Natasha Reid

A grandfather with no previous criminal record has been jailed for five years for using his job with DHL to hold and transport almost €1.4 million worth of drugs.

Luke Kelly (54) of Griffith Parade, Glasnevin in Dublin was before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday, where he had pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs for sale or supply on August 4th, 2023.

Garda Gary Duke of the Dublin Crime Response Team told the court that gardaí had received confidential information that some employees of DHL were using the company as a cover to deliver drugs.

They had a search warrant for Kelly’s home, when they stopped him driving a yellow van with DHL livery nearby. A previous court sitting heard that he was also wearing a DHL uniform.

Gda Duke told him he was going to search the vehicle, and his garda colleague noticed Kelly was behaving very nervously and tried to reassure him.

The officers found six kilogram blocks of cannabis in the rear of the van and one kilogram of cannabis herb in the passenger seat. They were all wrapped up in DHL packaging.

The defendant volunteered that there were more boxes at his house, where his elderly mother lived. He led them to a shed at the back of that property, which he opened with a fob.

The remainder of the drugs were discovered in a suitcase and sports bag. They were not packaged in DHL packaging, but there was some nearby.

Garda Duke said that 30.5kg of cannabis and 11.04kg of cocaine were found between the van and the shed, with a total value of €1.38 million. He said that Kelly had no previous convictions.

Under cross examination from Dominic McGinn SC, defending, Gda Duke agreed that a trial is pending against a co-accused, who was caught transporting drugs to or from Mr Kelly’s address.

He accepted that Kelly was concerned for his sick mother, who has since passed away, and did not want the gardaí to go into the house, although they had a warrant. He instead allowed them entry into the garage through a gate.

He agreed that the defendant had been married for more than 30 years, had children and grandchildren, and had worked all his life.

Mr Mc Ginn submitted that his client had been brought into something completely out of his control due to his own drug addiction, and that he very much regretted that.

He handed in letters from Kelly's wife and children, who described him as a good, hardworking family man and a solid member of his community.

Counsel also handed in a letter from Kelly's GP, which said that he was going through a huge amount of stress at the time, which had led to substance misuse. However, he is now substance free.

Counsel said that Kelly's role in holding the drugs for others was completely out of character, and that he was not someone with a life of crime.

Mr McGinn also said that custody for the first time in his life as a mature man would be difficult.

Judge Martin Nolan noted that Kelly was going to get some sort of reward for his services, and was very useful to the organisation for which he was holding and transporting.

He said that he assumed Kelly had become involved by reason of his own addiction, and accepted that going into prison for the first time at his age would be difficult.

“It’s a shocking situation for him,” the judge said. “He made a very bad misjudgement and is going to have to pay the price.”

He sentenced him to five years in prison.