Drug dealer jailed for laundering the cash he 'generated through his own illegal activity'
By Sonya McLean
A convicted drug dealer has been jailed for a year for laundering the cash he “generated through his own illegal activity”.
Kabir Adeyemo (24) of Drumcairn Parade, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to multiple charges of having cash believing it to be the proceeds of crime on dates between November 2019 and July 2021.
Garda Michael Curtin told Brian Storan, prosecuting barrister, there were 13 lodgements of different amounts, totalling €18,950, into Adeyemo’s bank account. He said that Adeyemo had convictions from drug dealing around that time.
He agreed with Mr Storan that it was “not a complex scheme” and that Adeyemo had just been moving money from his bank account to betting accounts and subsequently back to his own account. He said it was not a difficult crime to detect.
Judge Orla Crowe said Adeyemo laundered the cash “in a crude and obvious way” and said he was in a different category to the young people who often come before the court on charges of money laundering.
She noted that the cash was “generated through illegal activity” and Adeyemo was “a man involved in crime” at that time.
Judge Crowe noted that none of the cash was recovered and Adeyemo has 58 previous convictions including four offences for drug dealing which were dealt with in the Circuit Court.
She accepted that there is evidence that Adeyemo is a good father to his six-year-old son and that he is not the same person that he was at the time of his offending. She accepted there was a positive probation report before the court which outlined that Adeyemo is actively engaging in education in prison, is working and is attending the gym
Judge Crowe repeated that Adeyemo had laundered the proceeds of his own criminal activity but accepted that he has not been in trouble in the last number of years and “appears to have started to turn his life around”.
The judge imposed a sentence of 18 months and suspended the final six months of the term on strict conditions, including that Adeyemo engage with the Probation Service for 12 months upon his release from prison. The sentence was backdated to when Adeyemo entered his plea to the charges in April this year.
Gda Curtin told Mr Storan that it was the understanding of the gardaí that Adeyemo has “left drug dealing behind him”, that he has a partner and young child and “does not appear to be involved in crime any more”.
He said Adeyemo worked for 28 weeks in a bakery in 2017 and did not appear to work for much time afterwards, nor was he in receipt of social welfare.
Gda Curtin said Adeyemo’s convictions for drug dealing were from February 2019, January 2020 and May 2022. He is due for release from his most recent conviction in April 2027.
Gda Curtin agreed with Simon Matthews BL, defending, that his client got “easily swept up” in the status that comes from selling drugs and the money that could be made from it.
It was accepted that he has “undergone a considerable change since” and appears to have “moved on and matured”, that he is no longer engaged in selling drugs or laundering cash.
Mr Matthews handed in a letter from Adeyemo’s partner. He said at the time his client was both addicted to cannabis and the lifestyle of drug dealing.
He submitted that Adeyemo “has done everything he can to progress” and that he is now a more mature man who is a good father to his young son.
