Man pleads guilty of possession of over €280k of heroin for sale

A man caught with more than €280,000 worth of heroin in what he described as “an effing set-up” has been jailed for four years, reports David O’Sullivan.

Clinton Byrne (41), currently in custody in Mountjoy Prison, appeared before Judge Elma Sheahan in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday having pleaded guilty to possession of more than €280,000 worth of heroin for sale or supply in Milford Manor, Station Road, Clondalkin on April 26, 2023.

Detective Garda Gavin O’Gara told the court gardai received information that Byrne was using a house at the address to store and distribute drugs.

Surveillance was put in place and a search warrant was attained. On April 26, gardai arrived to the location and saw Byrne outside the house.

They searched him and found €3,985 in cash, a weighing scale and a block of heroin weighing half a kilo. He was arrested at the scene.

Byrne told gardai there were more drugs in the back of a car parked by the house. Three more packages of heroin weighing just over 1.5kg were found inside that car.

The total street value of the heroin seized was €280,630.

The court heard Byrne told gardai he was “only holding the stuff for a few hours” and that “it was an effing set-up”.

Inside the house gardai found a small amount of cannabis worth €142 which Byrne also pleaded guilty to possessing.

In garda interview, Byrne read out a statement where he apologised and said he wanted to take responsibility for the drugs seized. He said that he had an addiction to gambling and cocaine and had accrued a debt.

Byrne’s brother, Bill, told the court it was a “complete and utter shock” to hear what his brother did.

He said he believed his brother “was in a psychosis” at the time of offending and that he “wasn’t rational”.

In the past, he said he had directed his brother towards Gamblers Anonymous. He told the court Byrne had tried to seek help, but didn’t know how to go about it.

Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, said there was “no suggestion that he was involved in any management level” of the drug trade.

He said: “They were not his drugs. His involvement was fuelled by accumulated debts” and that was “something which was taken full advantage of by the people who owned the drugs.”

Mr O’ Higgins said his client had grown up in difficult circumstances, but has a good work history and that there was a “strong possibility of rehabilitation.”

He said his client had expressed strong remorse and asked the court to be as lenient as the circumstances permit.

Byrne has 78 previous convictions. 72 of those are for road traffic matters, with the rest consisting of district court convictions for public order, theft and possession of knives or other articles.

In sentencing, Judge Sheahan said the seriousness of the offense was an aggravating factor. However, she said she would consider “how the accused has dealt with the circumstances.”

Judge Sheahan said the mitigating factors included the very early plea of guilty, Byrne’s cooperation upon arrest, that the previous convictions were not drug-related and the level of offending Byrne was operating at.

She said Byrne “has been a productive member of society in the past” but that “this is a serious offence given the nature and quantity of the drugs.”

Judge Sheahan handed down a sentence of four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment but suspended the final six months on strict conditions.