TD says sentence was too light

The decision to give a 12-month prison sentence to a man who was found to have been running a cocaine "cottage industry" at his…

The decision to give a 12-month prison sentence to a man who was found to have been running a cocaine "cottage industry" at his home was criticised by Tony Gregory TD last night.

Mr Gregory said it was "unbelievable" that a man running such an operation could get off so lightly. Forensic analysts estimated that the cocaine seized at his Lucan home was worth €20,000 but Mr Gregory said the street value was much greater.

He said Gareth Enright's drugs operation was "part and parcel" of the drugs industry that led to gangland killings and addiction.

"Under the law, he could have effectively got up to life imprisonment," he said. Instead, he would probably be released in nine months. "I am sure that there are people who have done far less than this and got far more in a sentence," Mr Gregory said.

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Alison Healy

Alison Healy

Alison Healy is a contributor to The Irish Times