Irish football figure faces possible 10 years behind bars after drugs conviction
This well-known Irish football figure is facing the possibility of a decade behind bars after he was convicted over a massive drugs haul.
Andrew Noonan, a former manager of Leinster Senior League team Bluebell United, was convicted yesterday of possessing €2.77 million worth of heroin in west Dublin almost five years ago.
Mr Noonan, 45, with an address at Redhills Park, Ellistown, Co Kildare had denied the charges but was convicted after a jury trial.
Judge Elma Sheahan remanded Mr Noonan in custody for sentencing on May 16.
He was found guilty of possessing drugs with intent to supply. That can carry a sentence of 10 years or more.
He was also found guilty of simple possession, as well as possession of an article intended for use in connection with a drug-trafficking offence.
The charges related to an operation involving the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Revenue Customs in the Rosemount Business Park, Dublin 11, on August 5, 2020.
They seized heroin worth €2.77 million in the operation and Noonan and former footballer Keith Quinn were both arrested and charged.
Quinn, 37, received a package containing the heroin at his place of work in the industrial estate, before meeting with Noonan and delivering it to another address - where they were arrested.
In 2021, Quinn - who was a former player for Sheffield United - pleaded guilty to the charges and was jailed for four years.
That was later raised to seven years after an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
His sentencing heard that Quinn, of Monastery Gate Avenue in Clondalkin, west Dublin was a "conduit" in the drug enterprise and was targeted because of a gambling debt he had amassed.
Speaking after the seizure Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis said: "The outcome of cooperation between Revenue and Customs and An Garda Síochána, has resulted in the seizure of a significant quantity of heroin from circulation within communities that are suffering the consequences of drug trafficking".
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