Two members of a family found digging up cash from a hole in a Dublin field have been sentenced.
A Garda helicopter captured footage of three men, described in court as members of the “Wall organised crime group”, digging up almost €80,000 buried in coffee jars.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard gardaí believe the cash dug up by brothers Michael (30), Thomas (39) and Patrick Wall (20), using shovels and a mini digger, was derived from burglaries.
Bottles of Lucozade and packets of Monster Munch crisps, which Patrick Wall had earlier been captured on CCTV footage buying in a local Applegreen, were also found in the hole.
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The court heard the brothers began digging after becoming aware the landowner was carrying out groundworks at the location. They had approached local businesses earlier in the day to inquire about the works and to ask that they be stopped.
Michael Wall, of Fortunestown Lane, Tallaght, Dublin, and Thomas and Patrick Wall, both of Fortunestown Crescent, Tallaght, were initially charged with money-laundering offences, but guilty pleas to possession of stolen property were accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The case against Patrick Wall was adjourned to May for finalisation for a probation report.
On Monday, Judge Orla Crowe commended work carried out by gardaí in the case.
She set headline sentences of two years in relation to Michael and Thomas Wall and imposed sentences of 18 months on both men. She noted both were married with children and took into account their personal circumstances.
Thomas Wall had already served 12 months in custody and she gave him credit for that time.
Judge Crowe noted Michael Wall had no prior convictions at the time of this offence and suspended his sentence in full.
Det Garda Kate Gilligan of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau told Judge Crowe the offending took place on August 14th, 2020, at a field in Keatings Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin.
She said the location was beside the N7 motorway, close to a large Applegreen petrol station.
The court heard gardaí were in receipt of confidential information that the Wall organised crime group were seeking to recover a large amount of cash buried in the field.
An operation was put in place, and at 3pm, the Garda helicopter observed a number of people at the location digging in a specific area. Footage was recorded and the helicopter returned to Baldonnell.
Gardaí, who had known members of the Wall family for a significant time, identified the three men before the court on the footage. The helicopter returned to the scene where it observed a mini digger had arrived, with five people in total present and a large hole in the field.
Gardaí entered the field and recovered four jars of own-brand Lidl coffee containing cash, along with loose cash and a fifth smashed jar. Two jars had been placed into a paper Applegreen bag with loose cash and the cash was damp, as if it had just been dug up. The total found was €79,000.
The Garda investigation revealed that earlier that day, Michael and Thomas Wall had inquired at local businesses about works being carried out on the land and asked that this be stopped. They were told a local businessman had hired builders to take out hedges and carry out groundworks.
A builder carrying out legitimate work for the previous three weeks on the land was approached by a large group of men who asked what he was doing. He observed other men using a tape to measure from the fence to a location in the middle of the field, where they started digging.
Det Garda Gilligan said the builder later left work and put the digger away. The other men did not have the owner’s permission to be digging on the field.
The three brothers were arrested and each told gardaí they were building fences for horses.
Barry Ward BL, defending Thomas Wall, said his client is married with three children. He handed in a number of letters on his behalf from people in his community. He said he has been using his time in custody productively.
Delia Flynn SC, defending Michael Wall, said he was a married father of three children, one of whom required special care. Letters were handed in relation to the child’s needs and supervision.
Padraig Dwyer SC, defending Patrick Wall, said his client was married and had the support of his family. He said this offence occurred when he was a juvenile and in the company of older relatives. He asked the court to take into account his early guilty plea.
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