A TUAMGRANEY man has been charged with a serious drug dealing offence arising from a Garda cocaine find at his property at the end of June.
At a vacation sitting of Ennis District Court, Alan King (44) of San Giovanni, Callahy, Tuamgraney, Co Clare has been charged with having in his possession cocaine with a market value in excess of €13,000 for the purpose of selling or supplying at his address on Saturday, June 28th last.
The charge is contrary to Section 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
The search of the home was carried out by members of the Killaloe Detective Unit, Ennis Detective Unit and Clare/Tipperary Drugs Unit with assistance from the Regional Dog Unit and the cocaine was found in a vehicle on the premises.
Gardaí stated at the time of the seizure that cocaine with an estimated value of €210,000 was retrieved.
On conviction, an offence under Section 15(a) carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years but a judge has the discretion to impose a lesser sentence in certain circumstances and only a very small portion of those convicted of Section 15(a) drug dealing offences do receive the 10 years in prison in the criminal courts.
Mr King initially appeared at a special sitting of Ennis District Court in the days after the Garda swoop and was refused bail by the District Court judge.
Mr King was first charged with possession of cannabis and cocaine at San Giovanni, Callahy, Tuamgraney on June 28th.
Mr King subsequently sought bail in the High Court and secured bail on strict conditions but has remained in custody as he has been unable to meet the conditions and was brought to court from prison to be charged with the Section 15(a) offence.
In court, Detective Garda David Laing gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution before court and said that the accused made ‘no reply’ after caution.
Det Laing said that a Book of Evidence is the case should be ready to be served in court on September 2nd for the case to go before Ennis Circuit Court.
Solicitor, Tara Godfrey said that Mr King is making efforts to make bail that includes €2,500 to be lodged and an independent surety, stating that the person to provide the independent surety has already been approved by the court.
Judge Fiona Brennan stated that the objections to bail were based around the value of the drugs.
Judge Brennan further remanded Mr King in custody with consent to High Court bail to appear before Killaloe District Court on September 2nd.
