A Co Meath haulier who was jailed for ten years for importing heroin worth €1.6 million in to Ireland has succeeded in having five years of a revised sentence suspended on appeal.
In May 2009, Paudie Greene (41) was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for possession of heroin for sale or supply by Judge Michael O’Shea at Trim Circuit Criminal Court.
Greene, of Talbot Court, Trim had pleaded guilty to the offence at Eamon Duggan Industrial Estate, Whitehall, Trim on March 15th, 2008.
The Court of Criminal appeal today determined that Judge O’Shea had committed an error in principle by failing to afford Greene sufficient credit for the mitigating factors in the case.
Presiding judge Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, sitting with Mr Justice Declan Budd and Mr Justice Daniel Herbert said the court would substitute Greene’s existing 10 year sentence with one of 12 years with five years suspended.
The court heard evidence that Greene agreed to transport the drugs after incurring significant debts from the collapse of his road haulage business.
The affair took an unusual turn when the trailer used to transport the drugs from France to Ireland broke free from the truck cab and a number of days passed before Greene was able to arrange to move the stricken trailer and unload the heroin.
In the interim, the trailer was brought to a garage to have a satellite
navigation system installed, whereupon employees of the garage discovered 17 packages of heroin hidden behind panels. The drugs were brought to Mullingar Garda station where they were determined to have a purity of 67 per cent and a street value of €1.6 million euro.
Gardai then removed the bulk of the drugs from the trailer and placed it under surveillance, ultimately arresting Greene and his co-accused Eamonn McNamee (29) as they removed the panels and took possession of the remaining drugs.
Counsel for Greene, Mr Conor Devally SC, submitted that Judge O’Shea had committed an error in principle by failing to identify and attach sufficient weight to the mitigating factors in the case, including his client’s plea of guilty.
Mr Devally said that imposing a ten year sentence on his client Judge O’Shea also failed to appreciate the “marked contrast” between Greene and his co-accused McNamee, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for
possession of €100,000 worth of heroin, despite having a more expansive role and being “targeted” by gardai prior to arrest.
Mr Carl Hanahoe BL, for the State, told the court that Judge O’Shea had “very fully” identified the mitigating factors in the case and reminded the court that there were substantial aggravating circumstances.
He said that Greene was to be handsomely rewarded for his part in the operation, and the fact that he was to be paid €10,000 suggested he was aware that he was importing a significant quantity of drugs in to the country.