Man caught with €5,000 worth of drugs five years ago only charged this year

A young man who was caught with €5000 worth of drugs in his home five years ago but was only charged this year has been given a suspended 18-month sentence, reports Isabel Hayes.

Sean Hassett (then 24) immediately owned up to the drugs when his home was searched by gardaí in June 2021, but due to delays in processing the various drugs involved, he was only charged earlier this year, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday.

During that time, Hassett had moved to Spain, removed himself from negative peer groups and turned his life around, defence counsel, Rebecca Smith BL, told the court. He voluntarily provided clean urine analysis to the court to prove he is no longer using drugs and is now engaged to be married, the court heard.

Sentencing Hassett on Friday, Judge Orla Crowe said that back in 2021, Hassett “immediately made admissions” to gardaí about the drugs, which were found in wheelie bins in his front garden and other areas around his family home.

He told gardaí he had a drug debt and was holding the drugs in order to help pay this off, Sergeant Mark Walsh told Oisin Clarke BL, prosecuting.

Hassett (now 29), formerly of Mayfield Park, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing drugs for sale or supply at his address on June 1, 2021. He has four previous convictions from before this offence – one road traffic offence and three for possession of drugs.

The drugs found involved ketamine worth about €1550, €2650 of cannabis and €900 of cocaine. The combined total of drugs involved was just over €5100, the court heard.

Judge Crowe said the court has seen the “chaos and misery” caused by illegal drugs in society.

She noted Hassett was coming before the court in relation to an offence he committed in 2021 when he was 24 years old.

He has not re-offended since in either Ireland or Spain.

“It looked like he was heading in one direction and one direction only in 2021 but he has changed his life around to a significant degree,” Judge Crowe said.

She noted Hassett was only charged in 2026, and this case has been hanging over him since then. He has fully cooperated with the investigation and flown back from Spain for any court dates.

Judge Crowe said a suspended sentence was warranted in this case. She set a headline sentence of two years, which she reduced to 18 months. She suspended this sentence for a period of three years on a number of conditions.