Letterkenny man caught with €2,000 of cocaine spared jail

March 14, 2023

A Letterkenny man who was caught with over €2,000 worth of drugs has been spared jail.

Gardai raided the home of Eoin McBrearty at Manorview Park and located the stash.

During the raid, Gardai found an estimated 28 grams of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €2,000. Some three grams of cannabis herb, valued at €60, was also located.

The 24-year-old McBrearty was before Letterkenny District Court, charged with the possession of cocaine for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying. He also faced charges of the possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis.

Sergeant Jim Collins said McBrearty made admissions when interviewed by Gardai. McBrearty said he was supplying others to ‘feed his own habit’, Sergeant Collins said.

Solicitor Mr Frank Dorroan told the court that his client became involved in a party culture that ‘overwhelmed’ him.

“He became addicted and indebted, which is a very unhappy combination,” Mr Dorrian said.

“An unusual aspect of this is that the addiction was secret. No-one was aware of the extent to which he was immersed in the activity.”

In January, McBrearty was given 240 hours of community service in lieu of 16 months imprisonment on money laundering charges at Letterkenny Circuit Court.

“In the course of interviews about money in his accounts, the concept that he was selling drugs emerged spontaneously and this underpinned a lot of this,” Mr Dorrian said.

McBrearty was a student in LyIT at the time and his addiction precluded his participation in a computing course.

McBrearty is now in a stable relationship and is employed by a local retailer. A reference on his behalf was submitted to the court.

Mr Dorrian said: “He has got his act together and he has no intention of visiting this building again.”

For a charge of possessing cocaine for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it, McBrearty was ordered to complete 80 hours of community service in lieu of two months in prison.

Charges of the possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis were taken into account by Judge Éiteáin Cunningham.

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