Limerick man caught transporting thousands of euros of drugs on scrambler bike

A YOUNG man has been brought before the courts for transporting over €10,000 of drugs on a scrambler bike in Limerick city. 

Josh Crawford, with a home address at Clarina Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, was spotted by Garda Conor Murphy “acting suspiciously” next to his parked scrambler bike on a “quite warm” day on April 14, 2023.

The garda detailed that Mr Crawford, now 23 years old, was wearing a face covering and dressed in all-black at the Canal Walk in the city. The man sped away from the garda, but was eventually caught when he fell off the bike.

Upon search, Garda Murphy found several packages of brown powder on Mr Crawford’s person with an estimated street value of €11,781.

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During questioning, Mr Crawford refused to say where he was transporting the drugs to or who his associates were.

Mr Crawford told gardaí that he has a debt of €3,000, and that he is addicted to weed. He claimed he took out loans to sustain his drug habit, and told gardaí “I owed money”.

State Barrister-in-Law John O’Sullivan told the court that the man has never been in gainful employment and is on disability allowance.

Mr O’Sullivan detailed that Mr Crawford has previous convictions, including drug possession, driving without an NCT or a licence, and dangerous driving - which earned him a driving disqualification. 

The state barrister said: “He shouldn’t have been driving a motorcycle at all”.

Barrister-in-Law Amy Nix, defending, said that Mr Crawford was targeted for this operation because he was in debt, and that he was not profiting from the venture.

Ms Nix told the court that he took up a new job in January, and that his new employer does regular drug testing, “which is a motivator for him”.

The barrister asked for an adjournment on the case “to allow him to put his best foot forward”.

Judge Colin Daly adjourned the case for six months on condition that he remain in employment, does not commit any offence in the meantime, and that he produce a clean drugs test result on his next court date.

-Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme