A man appeared in court in Athlone today charged with the cultivation of about €200,000 worth of cannabis at a house in Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
Athlone District Court heard Zhou Li (28), a Chinese national of no fixed abode, had entered Ireland from Cyprus in December 2009 but failed to leave the country when his visa expired the following year.
He was arrested at a house in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, following a Garda surveillance operation in the town on Monday night.
Gda David Mead said Mr Li had been observed leaving a dwelling where “a large cultivation project had been housed.”
During a follow up search at a second house in the town “another cultivation project was found,” he added.
Gardaí recovered 450 cannabis plants from the houses at Ardleigh Park and Clonmore Heights in Mullingar. Lights and other equipment were discovered stored at a third house in Ardilaun Green, Mullingar, where the defendant had been staying.
When charged with cultivating cannabis under Section 17 of the misuse of drugs act, Mr Li replied: “I want the judge to know that I didn’t know it was drugs. I got involved with no knowledge of this.”
Gda Mead said the defendant claimed to have been offered €350 a week plus lodgings to carry out a job.
“He took this job for approximately five weeks. He was due to move away from Mullingar in two weeks,” he said.
The court was told all three houses identified by gardaí during the operation were suspected to have been rented by another, as yet unknown person.
Objecting to a Garda request to have the defendant remanded in custody, defence solicitor Padraig Quinn said his client had been “a very, very small cog” in a much larger wheel.
Mr Quinn said his client had co-operated, surrendered his passport and was prepared to sign on daily at a designated Garda station if granted bail. “We are trying to establish an address, somewhere he might stay in Dublin,” he said.
Gda Mead told the court the man, who has a wife and child in China, had no assets or fixed address in Ireland.
Judge Seamus Hughes noted Mr Li “could hop over the border to the six counties without a passport.”
He remanded him in custody to appear before a sitting of Mullingar District Court on Friday.