A FACTORY manager turned homeless alcoholic has been given seven years in jail for importing cocaine worth over €460,000.
Stephen Cagney (41), from Cashel, Co Tipperary, but now of no fixed abode, was living in a hostel in Cork when offered €20,000 to bring a cache of the drug to Ireland. He was also given €2,500 to buy a suitcase and an airline ticket to Chile.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the cocaine in May 2007.
Paul Burns SC, defending, said three years ago Cagney had been married with a daughter and managed a meat-boning business in England. After his marriage broke down, he lost his job and returned home. He began to drink heavily and developed psychiatric problems. He was now a down and out who had tried to commit suicide twice and had spent time in a psychiatric hospital, Mr Burns said.
He was "in a vulnerable state when taken advantage of by very cynical people".