A man who was caught with €25,000 worth of heroin said that a few days earlier, he had been shot in the neck as another man was shot dead, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
Steven Barry (24), Tymon North Green, Tallaght, said he got a call after the shooting that his family would be killed if he did not pick up the drugs.
He said he got a call a few days later to pick up the drugs or his family “would get a bullet”. Asked what his payment was going to be, he replied: “Not getting a bullet”.
He was remanded in custody by Judge Katherine Delahunt pending sentence.
Mr Barry pleaded guilty to possessing the drugs at a pub in Newcastle, Co Dublin, in March 2008. He thought gardaí outside were gunmen coming to kill him and was “delighted” to find they were gardaí.