Students found with drugs also had thousands in cash

Two students found with thousands of euro in cash, eight deals of cannabis, and a kitchen knife, claimed that they had just bought the drugs from a random stranger, Galway District Court heard.

Judge Mary Fahy decided not to finalise the matter for one of the defendants, whom she said was the “brains” behind the operation.

Both Sean McGuinness and John Coyle, with a previous rental address in Laurel Park, pleaded guilty to having drugs for sale or supply at St Brigid’s Place on September 7, 2015.

Their solicitor, John Martin, asked that the money seized would not be forfeited to the State, as it was not the proceeds of crime.

Garda Ollie Whyte told the court that he was patrolling the city centre on the afternoon in question when he observed two males standing at the rear of a car.

He was suspicious that there had been some offence committed under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and he searched them accordingly.

McGuinness had €1,190 on his person, while Coyle had €640, and a further €1,285 was found in the glove box; a kitchen knife was in the door, and a medicine bottle contained cannabis herb.

When their property was searched, a further eight bags of cannabis herb worth €1,140, in single deal sizes, were discovered.

They were asked to attend Oranmore Garda Station voluntarily the following day, where they were interviewed separately.

“When they were questioned, they said that they had gone to Supermac’s where they were approached by a gentleman, and they bought the cannabis off him – they paid €700 in cash for all of it,” Garda Whyte said, adding that he did not believe the evidence.

Mr Martin explained that the money found on Mr McGuinness was to be used to buy a laptop; Mr Coyle had his money to spend on his first week in college, and the amount in the glove box was a deposit for a house they hoped to rent.

In the case of Coyle, Judge Fahy imposed a four-month suspended sentence, and fined him €300. However, she was not ready to finalise the case involving McGuinness, who was the driver of the car.

She had sympathy for him, considering that both his parents had died, and warned that he may be disqualified from driving unless she could be convinced that he had turned his life around.