Mayo garda sting catches man with €40k of cannibis in coffee machine box

A man was caught in a garda sting after more than €40,000 worth of cannabis was concealed in a coffee machine box.

Mark Doherty, aged 33, formerly of Deerpark Manor, Swinford, but currently in custody, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to possession of drugs with intent to supply.

Garda Rachel Dillon told the court that the Mayo Divisional Drugs Unit were contacted by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau on April 12, 2024, and told that a consignment of drugs had been intercepted by customs officers at Shannon Airport.

The package originated in California and was transported by FedEx. It was labelled as a coffee machine weighing 3.1kg.

However, inside was 2.2kg of cannabis with an estimated street value of €44,780. The package was addressed to Doherty’s then home at Deerpark Manor.

On April 16, 2024, a joint operation was conducted.

A detective from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau collected the package at Shannon and travelled to Mayo to deliver it to Doherty. The defendant was not at home but had arranged for it to be delivered to his workplace.

The officer handed the package to Doherty and he signed for the delivery before being arrested. Doherty made some admissions when interviewed and claimed he was in debt at the time.

The court heard Doherty is a drug addict and alcoholic. He claimed he owed €6,000 at the time of his arrest having paid off the bulk of a much larger drug debt.

The defendant had acted as a ‘handler’ for the drugs and told gardaí he was paid €500 for each box and was using this cash to pay off his debt.

Garda Dillon told the court that while she accepted that Doherty had a difficult background she believed he may have been paid more than the €500 he claimed he received per delivery.

Judge Eoin Garavan was told that the defendant has 47 previous convictions.

The court heard he was attacked with a kettle and sustained serious injuries while in custody in Castlerea Prison.

Doherty told the court he was sleeping in his cell when he was assaulted.

He said he sustained a broken eye socket, broken nose, damage to his jaw and nerve damage to the right hand side of his face.

The defendant said he could not say for certain if the attack was connected to his arrest.

Despite being requested at an earlier court sitting, urinalysis, a psychological report, and an addiction report were not ready in time for the sentencing hearing.

Judge Garavan adjourned finalisation of the case until November 6 next.

The judge indicated that he is likely to impose a three-year jail sentence with one year suspended.

However, he said he would consider backdating the custodial term to August 1, 2024, to reflect time already spent in custody, leaving a one-year suspended prison sentence.

(Funded under the Courts Reporting Scheme).