Adult nappies used as 'cover load' for drugs worth €1.2m, court told
Eimear Dodd
A man has been jailed for seven years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possessing over €1.4 million worth of drugs.
Raymond Fortune (43) of Latchford Drive, Castaheany, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of drugs for sale or supply on July 4th, 2024. He has no previous convictions.
Detective Garda Ronan O'Reilly told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that a surveillance operation was put in place after gardaí received confidential information that Fortune was involved in the distribution of drugs.
The court heard on Wednesday that Fortune was driving a white Transit van when gardaí stopped him. They found 7kg of cannabis herb with a street value of €140,000.
He had been under surveillance at the Rosemount Business Park before his arrest and gardaí later searched a storage unit there.
They found 64kg of cannabis herb there, valued at over €1.2 million, along with 623g of ketamine valued at €37,380. The witness said adult nappies were the “cover load” for the drugs.
Mixing agents were found when Fortune's home was searched, the court was told.
When interviewed, Fortune said he had addictions to cocaine and alcohol. He told gardaí he was to receive €2,000 off a drugs debt by transporting the drugs.
Det Gda O'Reilly agreed with defence counsel Fiona Murphy SC that the storage unit was rented in Fortune's own name.
It was further accepted that Fortune made admissions, was co-operative and told gardaí he had a drugs debt.
Det Gda O'Reilly agreed that Fortune outlined that his addiction issues spiralled out of control after his brother was charged with the murder of his father in 2019, and gardaí were aware of Fortune's situation at that time.
The garda further agreed that Fortune indicated he tried to repay the debt, but this was refused, and he was asked to do a favour instead. He also accepted that Fortune refused to name anyone out of fear and concerns for the safety of his partner and children.
Ms Murphy told the court her client is apologetic and accepts responsibility for his actions.
She noted that Fortune was an “integral cog” in the transportation and storage of drugs.
Counsel said her client's addiction got out of control following the difficult events in 2019, but he managed to extricate himself from addiction, turn his life around and start a small business.
She said he tried to repay his drugs debt but was asked instead to do a favour and felt he had no option but to engage.
Ms Murphy said her instructions are that Fortune was relieved when gardaí stopped him as he knew that would mean the end of it.
She said her client has family support and asked the court to be as lenient as possible.
Judge Martin Nolan noted that a large quantity of drugs were found by gardaí in this case, and Fortune's involvement was serious.
He noted the mitigation, including that Fortune had turned to drugs after a “tragic incident” in his family and had a debt, which led to third parties taking advantage of him.
The judge said Fortune was a “mature man” who made “bad decisions”. He said the court was satisfied Fortune didn't own the drugs, but his level of involvement was “pretty serious”.
He imposed a sentence of seven years, backdated to July 4th, 2024, when Fortune went into custody.
