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The Irish Sun
16-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Dealer banged up for 15 years ran Dublin drug cell for mob led by 2 brothers before €9m secret compartment op smashed
A DRUG dealer who had part of his nose removed after a 'chronic cocaine habit' left him with a deviated septum was banged up for 15 years today. Andrew Pender, 52, had operated under the radar while working at the top tier of a 5 Andrew Pender has been banged up for 15 years Credit: Colin Keegan/Collins 5 He carried out drug drops as he ferried gear and cash around the capital 5 Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary said it was a 'great and significant result' Credit: Collins Courts He carried out Dad-of-four Pender was caged over a €9million seizure of cocaine, cannabis, MDMA and ketamine from a shipping container. Cops also found €1.1million in cash, which was split into 16 separate bales and wrapped in duct tape. Pender had pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering offences as well as the possession of a full Read more in News He also admitted to having two vehicles — a Peugeot car and a Mercedes Luton van — which were fitted with secret compartments for drug trafficking. They have been long in operation, filling the void left by their murdered associate Eamon 'The Don' Dunne in 2010. The gang have been high-priority targets for Gardai for a number of years, as well as the Most read in the Irish Sun Pender ran their drug cell in Dublin. But it was smashed following a lengthy and complex probe by the Dublin Crime Response Team, which involved lots of surveillance. Det Insp Ken Holohan said Pender was stopped in a 19-D Peugeot car on the Finglas Road, in Dublin after 6pm on July 19, 2024. COP RAID A sum of €9,000 in cash was found along with a small quantity of cocaine, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard. Cops then raided a premises at Woodfield, Ballymacarney, The Ward, on the Dublin/ Pender, of Tallaght, had been renting a shipping container there at a cost of €200 per month. Inside it, €8.9million of cocaine, cannabis, MDMA and ketamine was found. The €1.1million in cash was seized from a Mercedes van. BRANDED COKE Pictures of the drugs show the coke was branded 'Route 66' while further drugs were branded 'Dior'. This is usually done to indicate which drugs packages are going to other gangs lower down the chain. A full Garda uniform, a cop stab vest and an official utility belt were also discovered in a barrel. Another two properties linked to Pender in Tallaght were searched, with a further €44,690 recovered. SHELL COMPANIES The court heard Pender had set up shell companies as a front to cover for the movement of the gear. This included Tech Recovery, with its livery put on a van. Our pictures also show where the secret compartments were fitted to conceal the drugs and cash. Judge Orla Crowe said Pender was the manager of the 'entire cell of a drug distribution network in the Dublin area', adding there were 'no persons higher up nationally' in the operation than him. She told his sentencing hearing that Gardai were satisfied he was not under pressure or any threat to run this operation. HEALTH ISSUES And she flagged how he did not assist in the probe. In mitigation, the judge noted that Pender — who only had three convictions for road traffic offences before this — had A previous He also suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties. JAIL SENTENCE Judge Crowe also noted his good references from family members. But she jailed him for 15 years. His sentence was backdated when he went into custody on July 7, with credit for three months on remand. His barrister pleaded for a portion to be suspended — but the judge rejected it. Pender, who stood just outside the dock, showed no emotion as he was given his sentence today. 'GREAT RESULT' Speaking afterwards, Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary said it was a 'great and significant result'. He declared: 'Andrew Pender was managing and controlling a sophisticated drugs cell. He was responsible for it. 'He was also observed personally delivering large quantities of drugs into communities around our city. It was a significant result and very much targeted at the middle-tier, middle-level drug-dealing gangs.' The top cop said officers were not aware what the use of the Garda uniform was for but said: 'It was a sinister element and shows the level of sophistication this particular mid-tier group had.' Cleary said the DCRT has seized over €48million in drugs and €14million in cash since it was set up in January 2023, with further 'live and ongoing' investigations. 5 The coke was branded 'Route 66' while further drugs were branded 'Dior' 5 Judge Crowe said Pender was the manager of the 'entire cell of a drug distribution network in the Dublin area'
Sunday World
16-07-2025
- Sunday World
Dealer at ‘highest level' of Dublin drugs network is jailed for 15 years
Judge Orla Crowe said that gardaí are satisfied that 'no people were higher up nationally' than 52-year-old Andrew Pender A man described as the manager of the 'entire cell of a drug distribution network in the Dublin area' has been jailed for 15 years after he was caught with almost nine million worth of assorted drugs, over €1 million in cash and a stolen garda uniform. Judge Orla Crowe said that gardaí are satisfied that 'no people were higher up nationally' than 52-year-old Andrew Pender. The judge said it was a 'a highly sophisticated operation' that involved two vehicles which had been adapted to have hidden compartments to store drugs, a rented shipping container, a stolen garda uniform and a falsely registered delivery company. Pender of Ely Green, Tallaght, Dublin 24 pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of an assortment of drugs for sale or supply at The Ward in Co Meath on July 19, 2024. He has three previous convictions for minor road traffic offences. He further pleaded guilty to having two vehicles – a Peugeot and a Mercedes Luton van – which had been fitted with a compartment in circumstances giving rise to the inference that he possessed or controlled it for the purpose connected with the commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug trafficking offence on the same date. Finally, he pleaded guilty to money laundering of €1,149,920 in cash at The Ward, his home and his parents' home also on the same date. The cocaine found was valued at almost €4.47 million, the ketamine had a value of just over €2.5 million, the cannabis was worth €1.29 million and the MDMA was valued at just over €700,00. In sentencing Pender today Judge Crowe noted that Pender did not assist the garda investigation but acknowledged that he pleaded guilty to the offences at an early stage. She accepted that he had a long-standing addiction to cocaine which has had medical consequences for him before she noted that he suffered from COPD, that he had heart problems and recently had surgery on his nose. She further accepted that there was a large number of references before the court that spoke well of Pender and a letter of remorse he had written. Judge Crowe said that the garda evidence was that Pender 'managed the entire cell of drug distribution for the Dublin area' and gardaí are satisfied that he was not under duress or pressure to run this operation. She noted that he was responsible for both the movement of cash and drugs. She said he was in 'clear control' of the operation and 'working hands on' before describing the evidence as 'obvious' that Pender was at 'a level of involvement at the highest possible level' and that there was 'no people higher up than he nationally'. Judge Crowe said it was an 'inherently very grave' case noting the impact drugs and drug trafficking at this level have on society. She also noted that "chillingly" Pender had possession of a garda uniform. She set a headline sentence of 20 years in prison noting that the maximum penalty available to the court was life imprisonment. Judge Crowe said she was taking into account mitigating features of the case including Pender's personal circumstances and his plea of guilty before she imposed a sentence of 15 years in prison. The sentence was backdated to when Pender first went into custody earlier this month and he was given credit for time previously served on remand. Judge Crowe acceded to a request from Joe Mulrean BL, prosecuting, to have the drugs, cash, vehicles and shipping container seized during the investigation forfeited to the State. She refused an application by Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending to suspend part of the sentence on the basis of Pender's chronic drug addiction. Detective Inspector Ken Holohan, of the Dublin Crime Response Team (DCRT), previously gave evidence that Pender was arrested following what was described as 'an elaborate ongoing investigation' after it was determined that Pender was 'a person of trust'. Pender was stopped while he was driving a Peugeot and a further search of the vehicle revealed €9,000 in cash, a small quantity of cocaine and a key. It was soon discovered that this was the key for a rented shipping container situated in rural Meath. A warrant was obtained to search this container and a Mercedes Luton van and a stolen garda uniform, along with a stab vest, was also discovered. The van had been fitted with a hidden compartment, behind a hydraulic device. It was considered a sophisticated compartment which required an expert to access it. In this compartment, 16 blocks of cash and two kilogrammes of cocaine were found. The rest of the drugs were found in the shipping container. Pender had been renting the container for some time, paying €200 per month in rent. It later transpired that Pender had asked two separate people to register the two vehicles in their own names. Pender had also registered a company in his name in November 2021. It was registered to his home address but he did not operate the company as a business. The Peugeot that he had been stopped driving also had a false floor fitted to hide a compartment under the seats. Pender's home and his parents' home were searched during which the documentation in relation to the vehicle was found along with further quantities of cash. Mr Ó Lideadha submitted to the court that Pender had the money and drugs in order to pay off a drug debt but the gardaí do not accept this. Counsel said Pender had damaged his nose due to his 'chronic cocaine habit' and he had to have part of his nose surgically removed recently as a result. Andrew Pender Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 16th
