This article is from page 3 of the 2008-03-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
A BUSINESSMAN in financial cri- sis borrowed money from “criminal elements” and ended up transport- ing more than €3.1 million worth of drugs for the gang – but was caught. Ennis Circuit Court heard yester- day that Thomas Lennon had gone through difficulties in his construc- tion business months before he was caught with the haul, which was one of the biggest seizures ever in Clare. Father-of-five Lennon (36), of Kill- estry, Killaloe, pleaded guilty to pos- session of an assortment of drugs in-
cluding cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis resin, with an aggregate market value of €13,000 or more, at Ross, Killaloe on July 14, 2006.
Lennon was stopped driving a Ford Transit van. The drugs were found in the back of the van contained in a wheelie bin, holdall bag and white Oe
Detective Garda Tom Barber of the Garda National Drugs Unit told the court that the haul included 269 kilos of cannabis resin with a street value of over €1.8 million; 10 k1- los of cocaine, valued at €691,000;: 18 kilos of amphetamine, valued at
€227,000 and 30,000 ecstacy tab- lets, worth €303,000. The accused took responsibility for possession of the drugs but refused to name those involved. Lennon, who had no previ- ous convictions, currently employs 25 people.
His barrister, Michael O’ Higgins, SC, said, “At Christmas 2005, his affairs were in crisis. He was unable to meet his €10,000 wages bill. He had to go outside the banking system to raise funds and got €10,000 from criminal elements,” he said.
He said that Lennon was subse- quently told, ““You owe us money now
and there’s another way by which you can work the money off.
“These are heavy people. When they put you under pressure it is un- pleasant,” he said.
Dt Gda Barber accepted that Len- non’s admissions made the investi- gation easier but said, “there would have been strong evidence anyway.
“Mr Lennon knew the people he was getting involved in. I don’t be- lieve he accrued any profit from this,” said the garda.
Mr O’Higgins said, “While the quantity of the drugs was sky high, there was no question of profit for
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He said that the court “need not apply” the mandatory minimum sen- tence of 10 years, given the circum- stances in the case.
Judge Carroll Moran said he would not impose sentence until next peeKeyelaee
“This 1s a difficult case. The facts are quite unusual. The offence is ex- tremely serious, as Serious as you can imagine under the Misuse of Drugs Xam
“There have been, on the other hand, extraordinary mitigating cir- cumstances,” he said.