A former owner of Sides disco in Dublin has been given a suspended sentences of five years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for heroin dealing. John Murphy (49), single, who sold his interest in the disco, fell into debt to banks when later business ventures collapsed due to his heroin addiction.
Murphy, of Blackditch Road, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to two charges of having heroin for sale in June and November 1998. He admitted after his arrest he sold heroin to feed his habit.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne imposed consecutive sentences of three and two years but suspended them with the warning that if he transgressed within the next three years, he would serve the full five years in jail.