Heroin dealer was caught red-handed off bus

Gardaí were waiting for an Aran Island man as he alighted a bus from Dublin at Galway Coach Station with over €4,000 worth of heroin while armed with a knife.

Colm Joyce (45), a native of Kilronan, Inis Mór pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last July to having 27.591 grams of heroin in his possession at Bus Aras, Ceannt Station, Galway, on July 3 last year for sale or supply to another.

He pleaded guilty also to having a flick knife in his possession on the same date.

Garda Tom Doyle gave evidence at the sentence hearing last Friday that Gardaí apprehended the accused as he alighted a bus from Dublin at 2a.m. at Galway Coach Station and took him to Galway Garda Station where he was searched.

Joyce denied the heroin found on him was intended for sale and he claimed he carried the knife because he was a fisherman.

Det. Doyle said messages on Joyce’s mobile phone suggested he was a drug dealer as there were various messages on it involving deals with drug dealers.

The value of the heroin, he said, was €4,138. Joyce told Gardaí he had paid €1,000 for the drug himself.

Det. Doyle confirmed Joyce had worked as a fisherman and was a native of Kilronan where he was currently residing.

At the time of his arrest Joyce was using heroin himself and he had 21 previous convictions with some of those for drugs offences, Det Doyle added.

The most recent, he said, was last October when Joyce received a nine-month sentence for drug dealing and a three-month sentence for possession of drugs. The offence date was August last year and those two sentences were currently under appeal.

The other previous convictions included ones for drug dealing in 2008, assaults, drink driving, possession of drugs and criminal damage.

Defence barrister, Brendan Browne said Joyce was a chronic heroin addict.  He was in debt at the time of this offence and was going to use some of the proceeds from the sale of the heroin to pay his debts and keep some for himself.

Det. Doyle confirmed Joyce was a heroin addict and had looked very unhealthy at the time.  “He looks a little better this morning,” Det. Doyle observed.

Mr Browne said Joyce had made several attempts in the past to rehabilitate but had always “fallen off the wagon”.

He said Joyce was now clear of drugs for the last eight months and for the first time in his life he was now in a position to face his drug addiction and would be attending a residential treatment programme in eight weeks’ time, subject to a successful assessment in Cuain Mhuire.

Mr Browne said Joyce had been away fishing for the previous two weeks but he was attending a counsellor weekly to address his addiction issues.

Judge Karen O’Connor said she wanted written confirmation from Joyce regarding the counselling and the treatment course he was proposing to attend and she adjourned sentence to this coming Friday’s court for him to provide the necessary proofs to the court.