An Englishman who took over a heroin-trafficking network in the city has been jailed for seven years by Judge Elizabeth Dunne at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Paul Kendrick got into the grip of moneylenders after his release from prison and was led into the drug-trafficking operation which he eventually took over, the court was told.
Kendrick (34), unemployed, a father of five, with addresses in Grey Road, Walton, Liverpool, England, and at Altham Court, Grattan Crescent, Inchicore, Dublin, pleaded guilty to the possession and supply of heroin on February 16th this year.
Judge Dunne said he had come from Liverpool to set up the business and was not merely transferring the drugs from one jurisdiction to another but a leader in the organisation of the operation.
Det Garda Paul Duffy told prosecuting counsel, Mr Hugo Hynes, that gardai searched Kendrick's apartment in Inchicore and recovered heroin at first estimated to be worth £150,000. A number of other items and drug paraphernalia were also recovered along with £3,960 cash found in the hood of a cooker.
Kendrick admitted his involvement in the importation and sale of the drugs and told gardai he had been involved in the activity from about four weeks prior to last Christmas. Det Garda Duffy said Kendrick had signed a three-month lease on the apartment to use as a base for the drugs and would travel to Dublin on about a weekly basis.
Kendrick had no previous convictions in this jurisdiction but had several convictions dating from 1994 in the UK. These included a six-year sentence for a robbery with an imitation firearm. He also had several other convictions for theft which dated back to 1993.
The garda told Mr Sean Feehan, defending, that the drugs seized were estimated originally at £150,000 in value but Garda forensics had so far estimated the value to be between £60,000 to £80,000.
In reply to Judge Dunne who asked where Kendrick would rate on the overall scale of drug dealers, Det Garda Duffy said he had taken over the operation which had already been operating in the Dublin area. "He arranged the rental, travel and purchase of heroin in Liverpool and solely organised the sale of the drugs to people in Dublin," he said.