Gardaí were waiting when Dublin man arrived to collect €1m drug consignment

Irish Independent

2 days ago

Lee Corrigan, Chapel Gate, Aylesbury, Tallaght, Dublin 24, was sentenced to five years imprisonment, the final two-and-a-half years suspended.
He pleaded guilty to attempting to possess 49kgs of cannabis valued €998,100, for sale or supply at Toolfix, Ecco Road, Dundalk, on January 4, 2023.
The defendant did the job for "a few days' pay' because he was under pressure over a drugs debt. He said he was asked to collect something. He was shocked to discover the value of the consignment.
Dundalk Circuit Court heard that the day before a pallet had been delivered to the premises. It was not addressed to Toolfix but had its eircode.
The managing director was not familiar with the company the delivery had come from. Also, it was for a brand of tools they didn't stock.
He opened the boxes and hidden inside were clear plastic vacuumed-packed bags of what looked like cannabis. He contacted Gardaí.
Toolfix later received a call from a man saying that a pallet had been incorrectly delivered to them and that he would send someone to pick it up.
When Mr Corrigan arrived in a Ford Transit van Gardaí were waiting and arrested him.
Inside the vehicle investigators found a letter purportedly to be from FedEx stating that it had incorrectly made a delivery to Toolfix instead of another commercial premises. The document was of poor quality containing grammatical mistakes.
Gda Ashley McEvoy continued that Mr Corrigan told Gardaí he smoked 1g of cannabis every couple of days.
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He admitted being caught red-handed. He was asked to collect something and suspected it was around €1,000 of cannabis. He was shocked at the amount of cannabis
A man had sent him a screenshot of Toolfix.
The defendant added that he 'stressed out' and in debt for 'a couple of thousand'.
He had previous convictions for possession and possession for sale or drugs and had been fined €400 for each offence in the district court.
Gda McEvoy said it had not been indicated to Gardaí that a threat had been made to Mr Corrigan's family.
It was stated on his behalf that he was in a 12-year relationship and that his daughter had been born shortly before this incident. Mother and child were still in hospital at the time. It had been a difficult pregnancy.
He was under a cocaine debt and made a decision to collect these drugs.
Mr Corrigan was employed in a mechanics firm where he was well regarded and had been promoted.
He had missed his sister's wedding in Liverpool because of the bail conditions.
Judge Dara Hayes said that the previous offending was of an entirely different magnitude.
It was of concern that the defendant minimised his role to the probation officer. It was the recommendation of the Probation Service to finalise the matter.
Mr Corrigan had mental health difficulties and was assessed at low risk of reoffending. He was clearly much loved by his family. He had taken steps to put things right in his life.
However, the judge added that to be entrusted with the responsibility of collecting this amount of cannabis was a significant involvement in serious criminality.
A five-year sentence was imposed, the final two-and-a-half years suspended on condition the defendant places himself under Probation Service supervision for 12 months post release.
A destruction order was made for the drugs.
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