A man known to gardai as one of the biggest drug-suppliers in the south-east was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Waterford Circuit Court yesterday.
Anthony McEnery (31), of Canada Square, Waterford, was convicted at his trial last month by a jury on four counts of possessing drugs for sale and supply and was returned to court for sentencing yesterday before Judge Pat McCartan.
In his defence, McEnery had alleged that gardai had planted drugs in his house during a two-hour search of his premises on August 9th, 1996, during which cannabis, amphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine, with a street value of £8,500, was found. The accusation was condemned by the judge, who said that this was blatantly done to bamboozle and confuse the jury and free himself from the hold that the hand of justice had on him.
Mr Niall Durkin SC, for the accused, said his client had caused great distress to his family, particularly his mother, who suffered from a heart condition and depended heavily upon her son. He now lived with his girlfriend, who was expecting their first child in six months' time. Mr Durkan said this was not a massive amount of drugs compared with the sum of the hauls which had been seized in recent times.
However, Judge McCartan said the quantity, 25 tablets of ecstasy, 18g of cannabis resin, 3.2g of amphetamine and 43.5g of cocaine, was irrelevant to some extent and what was more significant was his substantial and committed involvement in the supply of drugs. The amounts were, he said, a consequence of the moment when the gardai chose to strike, but it was clear that McEnery had all the hallmarks of someone actively engaged in the retailing of drugs.
"We've heard that Waterford city has a serious drugs problem, and you are a major contributor to that problem," he told McEnery. "We've also heard that you are a tradesman and while I am impressed that you have returned to work, this also tells another story. You had no need to engage yourself in the sale of drugs and your only motive was your own greed, showing total disregard for the lives of young people you sold drugs to."
The judge sentenced McEnery to four jail terms, all to run concurrently. The longest sentence of 12 years was for the possession, sale and supply of cocaine. He received eight years for the ecstasy offence, six for cannabis and six for amphetamine. The judge refused a plea to have some of the sentence suspended and said it was the minimum he felt the court could impose in such a case.