Limerick gardai hail down cab with €69k of cocaine onboard

WHEN Limerick gardai hailed a taxi they were looking for more than a lift.

Limerick Circuit Court heard they had been following the vehicle travelling down from Dublin.

Prosecuting barrister, John O’Sullivan, instructed by state solicitor Padraig Mawe, said gardai had information that there was a “significant amount of cocaine” in the taxi.

They stopped the taxi near the Mackey Roundabout, Lisnagry, on June 11, 2020. Detective Garda Declan O’Halloran uncovered €69,000 of cocaine under a doormat in a footwell.

A passenger - Jonathan Fitzgerald, aged 24, of Ballycannon Heights, Meelick, Co Clare, pleaded guilty to the possession of drugs for sale or supply. Mr O’Sullivan said during garda interviews the defendant said two men knocked on his door and told him if he didn’t go to Dublin his house would be burned down.

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“He owed a drug debt of €1,200. He lives at home and was worried about his mother’s wellbeing. He said he had no choice but to run the errand. He thought it was cannabis,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

The barrister said Mr Fitzgerald told gardai that the taxi called to his mother’s house and brought him to Dublin where the taxi driver got a phone call to go to a location. The cocaine was then placed in the taxi and they returned to Limerick. Det Garda O’Halloran said the taxi driver was arrested, questioned and “denied all knowledge”.

The court heard Mr Fitzgerald has 20 previous convictions including three for possession and one for sale or supply of drugs.

Mark Nicholas SC, who represented Mr Fitzgerald, said his client pleaded guilty and made admissions.

“Due to a debt from drug use, pressure was put on him to do the run. He had a good upbringing and is very sorry to put his mother through this. He is going to school in prison and believes he can change,” said Mr Nicholas.

Judge Tom O’Donnell said if a person gets involved in the sale or supply of drugs they have to bear responsibility for their actions. The judge imposed a three year prison sentence backdated to April, 2022.