Two men who acted as the link between two well-known Dublin drug gangs in a £1.5 million (€1.9 million) heroin deal have each been jailed for six years by Judge Yvonne Murphy.
Brian McDermott and Brian Grendon met Christopher Lacken (36) in the car-park of the Silver Granite pub in Palmerstown where they were given a black plastic bag containing 6kg of 65 per cent pure heroin.
McDermott and Lacken were arrested at the scene, while Grendon was caught after a car chase by gardaí, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told.
McDermott (23), Oranmore Road, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to possession of drugs which had a market value in excess of €13,000 on November 11th, 2001.
Grendon (25), Greenforth Drive, Ronanstown, admitted possession of heroin for sale or supply and dangerous driving on the same date.
Det Sgt Greg Sheehan said both gangs in the operation had in the past used fatal shootings of anyone who compromised their business.
Judge Murphy said life imprisonment was the maximum sentence each man faced, but although both had pleaded guilty to different offences she did not see the need to distinguish between them.
She felt obliged to consider a minimum sentence of 10 years for McDermott.
Det Sgt Sheehan told Mr George Birmingham SC, prosecuting, that gardaí received confidential information in autumn 2001 regarding the importation of a large quantity of heroin.A number of people were subsequently put under surveillance.
He agreed with Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, for McDermott, that a criminal element in Crumlin had bought the drugs and were selling them to a criminal element in Ballyfermot.
Both men refused to name names when interviewed because their lives would have been at risk from gangs who murdered people in the past.
Det Sgt Sheehan said Lacken had also pleaded guilty and was awaiting sentence.