Portlaoise Courthouse

The seizure of cocaine worth €700 from a house in Portarlington was the turning point for a man who has weaned himself off drugs.

That’s what solicitor Philip Meagher told Judge Andrew Cody at Portlaoise District Court last Thursday, when his 35-year-old client pleaded guilty to possessing drugs for his own use and for possessing drugs for sale or supply.

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said that when gardaí carried out a search at the house in Portarlington on 25 October last, they found cocaine, plastic zip bags, weighting scales and a blender. He said the defendant admitted the cocaine was his, that he was supplying to family members and friends and had co-operated fully with the gardaí.

Mr Meagher said that at the time of the incident, his client was going through a difficult period and was using drugs as a crutch. He said that since the incident, the defendant had not come to garda attention and “in hindsight, he was glad of the prosecution, which acted as a catalyst. He has managed to wean himself off drugs, is in a better place now and has given a commitment never to be in court again”.

Judge Cody convicted the man of sale or supply of drugs and imposed a one-month sentence, suspended for one year. He took the other charge of possessing drugs into consideration.

*Names of defendants in Portlaoise District Court cases are printed in the Laois Nationalist newspaper that is available in your local shop or in our online edition here.