A DRUG dealer was caught storing a bag of 19 deals of cannabis in a mobile phone charging locker in a casino, a court has heard.
aron Brophy (30) was living in a hostel at the time and had nowhere else to store the drugs, which were found by staff who alerted the gardaí.
He was given an eight-month suspended sentence when he appeared in Dublin District Court.
Brophy, a father-of-one of Rory O’Connor House, Hardwicke Street in the north inner city, Dublin 1, admitted possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply as well as simple possession of the drug.
Sergeant Gail Smith told Judge Bryan Smyth that staff at Funland casino on O’Connell Street contacted gardaí on March 9, 2019 having discovered a bag on the premises.
It contained 19 deal bags of cannabis herb, with a total value of €700.
Gardaí viewed CCTV footage and saw Brophy had had it in his possession earlier.
He had put the bag in a phone charging locker on the premises, Sgt Smith said.
Brophy had a large number of prior previous convictions for offences including possession of drugs.
Defence solicitor Michael Kelleher said the accused had no previous convictions for sale or supply of drugs.
At the time, the accused was living in hostel accommodation and selling “a very minor amount of drugs”.
He was using a lot of cannabis himself and could not leave it in the hostel, so he was keeping it in the charging locker at the time, Mr Kelleher said.
Brophy would say the drugs had a lower valuation than stated by the gardaí.
The accused’s accommodation had since stabilised and he was “trying very hard to get things back on track”.
Brophy was prepared to carry out community work if that was open to him, Mr Kelleher said, asking the judge for leniency.
Judge Smyth said he would impose a sentence because it was a sale or supply charge, but in view of the mitigation he suspended it for two years.
