AN ENGLISH man who said he was only "minding" £390,000 worth of cocaine for a Dublin city centre criminal has been jailed for six years.
Judge Patrick Smith refused a defence application for leave to appeal against the severity of the sentence.
Judge Smith noted that gardai accepted that Charles Pavia (25) was not a drug dealer but was minding the haul in his Dublin flat for someone else. Apart from a previous £30 fine for having cannabis for his personal use, Pavia had a clear record, the judge added.
Pavia's case had been adjourned overnight to yesterday morning at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after he pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial to having the cocaine for sale or supply at his flat at Mountainview Court, Summerhill, Dublin, on October 23rd, 1995.
His guilty plea came after Judge Smith ruled a search warrant was admissible in evidence.
Mr Luigi Rea, defending, said that because of the size of the cache, Pavia was obliged to plead to a charge of possession for supply instead of the lesser charge of simple possession.
However, it was accepted he was not a drug dealer. Mr Rea said drug dealers were held in odium by society and his client's family was anxious the stigma should not be held against him. Pavia had pleaded guilty as soon as the legal issue of the search warrant had been explored, he said.
Det Sgt Maurice O'Connor said the cocaine was found during a Garda search of adjoining flats. It was found to be 65 per cent pure. There were 14oz of the drug, with a street value of £390,000.