Jail time for group of men caught digging up €80k stolen cash in buried coffee jars

Two men of a well-known organised crime group, caught with stolen cash, have been sentenced.

A garda helicopter captured footage of three men, described in court as members of the “Wall organised crime group”, digging up almost €80,000 buried in coffee jars in a suburban Dublin field.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard gardai believe that the cash dug up by brothers Michael (30), Thomas (39) and Patrick (20) Wall, using shovels and a mini digger, was derived from burglaries.

Bottles of Lucozade and packets of Monster Munch crisps, which Patrick Wall had earlier been captured on CCTV footage buying in a local Applegreen, were also found in the hole.

The court heard the brothers began digging after becoming aware that the landowner was carrying out groundworks at the location. They had approached local businesses earlier in the day to inquire about the works and ask that it be stopped.

Michael Wall of Fortunestown Lane, Tallaght, and Thomas and Patrick Wall, both of Fortunestown Crescent, Tallaght, were initially charged with money laundering offences but guilty pleas to possession of stolen property were accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The case of Patrick Wall was adjourned to May, for finalisation for a probation report.

Judge Orla Crowe set headline sentences of two years in relation to Michael and Thomas Wall and imposed sentences of 18 months on both men. She noted both men were married with children and took into account their personal circumstances.

Detective Garda Kate Gilligan of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau told Judge Crowe the offending took place on August 14, 2020, at a field in Keatings Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin.

She said the location was beside the N7 motorway close to a large Applegreen petrol station.

The court heard gardaí were in receipt of confidential information that the Wall organised crime group were seeking to recover a large amount of cash buried in the field.

Gardaí, who had known members of the Wall family for a significant time, identified the three men before the court on the footage. The helicopter returned to the scene where it observed a mini digger had arrived, with five people in total present and a large hole in the field.

Gardaí entered the field and recovered four jars of own brand Lidl coffee containing cash, loose cash and a fifth smashed jar. The total found was €79,000.

A builder carrying out legitimate work for the previous three weeks on the land was approached by a large group of men who asked what he was doing. He observed other men using a tape to measure from the fence to a location in the middle of the field where they started digging.

Detective Garda Gilligan said the builder later left work and that the other men did not have the owner’s permission to be digging on the field.

The three brothers were arrested and each told gardaí they were building fences for horses.

Thomas Wall has 12 previous convictions, while Michael Wall has one previous conviction for a road traffic offence and Patrick Wall, has no previous convictions.

Barry Ward BL, defending Thomas Wall, said his has been using his time in custody 'productively'.

Delia Flynn SC, defending Michael Wall, said he was very much engaged with his family with a lot of responsibility and difficulties in his life. 

Padraig Dwyer SC, defending Patrick Wall, said this offence occurred when his client was a juvenile and in the company of older relatives. He said his client has no drink or drugs issues. He asked the court to take into account his early guilty plea.