Cocaine worth €400k delivered to Limerick home during Covid lockdown
A DRUG user who transported large amounts of cocaine during the first Covid lockdown had a false letter claiming he worked as a courier, which allowed him pass through garda checkpoints.
Trevor Carey, aged 43, of Chesterfield Downes, Castletroy View has pleaded guilty to possession of drugs, worth almost €400,000 for the purpose of sale or supply.
During a sentencing hearing, Limerick Circuit Court was told Mr Carey was observed by gardai dropping a package to a house at Carrig Midhe, Corbally on June 12, 2020.
Detective Garda Eimear O’Sullivan said 5.65kgs of cocaine were located inside the house when it was searched a short time later.
She told John O’Sullivan BL, gardai had earlier identified Mr Carey as a “possible operative” for an organised crime group and that various paraphernalia associated with drug dealing was discovered during a search of his home.
The items seized included ‘baggies’, suspected tick lists, a mixing agent and five mobile phones.
Various documents were also seized including a letter which purported to confirm that Mr Carey worked for a courier company and was ‘legally permitted’ to travel outside his 5k during the Covid restrictions.
However, the detective confirmed the defendant never worked for the named company and that he was not a courier. She agreed with Mr O’Sullivan who said the letter was part of his strategy “to help him move about”.
She said the defendant, who was working for a company in County Clare until March 2020, has a gambling addiction, is a regular drug user and is in “substantial arrears” on his mortgage.
Judge Tom O’Donnell was told Mr Carey previously received a loan from an “unidentified male” who offered to “knock off” some of his debt if he stored packages for him.
Detective O’Sullivan said Mr Carey suspected the packages contained cocaine but that he was not aware of the value.
Following his arrest, he made admissions and told garda he would receive phone calls from the male to tell him where to deliver packages to.
“He was the male’s gofer, everything went through him,” said Mr O’Sullivan
Mr Carey told gardai he had been transporting and delivering drugs for more than a year and that he had initially been storing the cocaine in the attic of his home before then using the house in Corbally where a friend lived.
Detective O’Sullivan agreed with Mr O’Sullivan who suggested that Mr Carey “needed somewhere safer” as he had been threatened.
Judge O’Donnell was told the defendant, who has a number of minor convictions, has a good work history but is no longer able to work due to a heart condition.
Asking the court to consider a non-custodial sentence, Anthony Sammon SC said his client had been “trapped by his own indebtedness” and that he had a “limited role” in the overall operation of the organised crime group.
Referring to the contents of a Probation Report, the barrister asked the court to note that Mr Carey has “chosen to stand up for himself” by making a formal statement of complaint against the male who had supplied him with the drugs and delivery instructions.
That matter, Mr Sammon said, is currently before the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Adjourning the matter until next February, Judge O’Donnell said the facts of the case are “disturbing” but that he did not want to rush to his judgment.