Man whose house was 'riddled with drugs from top to bottom' dodges jail time

A man has been given a suspended sentence after he was caught with just over €9,000 worth of drugs in his bedroom in a house that seemed to  "be riddled with drugs from top to bottom”.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Charles Santos (30) of Adelaide Road, Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis, cannabis resin, cocaine and MDMA at an address at Summer Street North, Dublin 1 on February 15, 2023.

Passing sentence, Judge Pauline Codd said: “The entire household seems to be riddled with drugs from top to bottom.”

Judge Codd sentenced Santos to ten months in prison but suspended it in full for two years. She said he must remain drug-free during this time.

Gardaí executed a search warrant on the then-home of Santos. 

When his bedroom was searched, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis resin and MDMA with a combined value of €9,328.60 were found.

The court heard that the drugs were found in shoe boxes and in a chest of drawers. Santos was arrested, detained and interviewed.

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He claimed during interview that some of the cannabis and MDMA were his but denied knowledge of the remainder of the drugs found in his bedroom. Santos told Gardai that he had been to Brazil and when he returned, the shoe boxes were left in his room.

Santos admitted to being a cannabis user and that he bought large amounts of cannabis.

More drugs were found in other bedrooms in the six-bedroom house. A female who was present at the time of the search was charged but failed to appear in court and a bench warrant was issued for her.

A second male is also being sought by gardai for questioning. 

Santos has worked as a Deliveroo driver and in restaurants. Counsel said his client entered an early guilty plea and is no longer using cannabis.