Man jailed after high speed pursuit involving 12 Garda cars and helicopter

Declan Brennan

A man who was in a high-speed pursuit across Dublin and County Meath, which involved 12 Garda cars and the air support helicopter, has been jailed.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard at a previous sentence hearing last February that at around 12.30 am on the night of May 29th, 2023, Dublin man Dziugas Odinas (25) was driving a Volkswagen Passat with two passengers in the car.

A Garda inspector driving in a marked patrol car saw Odinas driving on the Oscar Traynor Road, Coolock, driving on the wrong side of the road, at high speed in a direction towards gardaí.

Garda Emma Young told the court that this inspector had to drive his car onto the grass verge of the road to avoid being struck by the oncoming car.

The inspector then activated the blue lights and sirens of the patrol car, but Odinas drove off at speed.

During the high-speed pursuit that ensued, Odinas was observed driving the wrong way on the M50 motorway against the flow of traffic, driving the wrong way down slip roads, and driving across red bollards.

At one point, he drove in the wrong direction around the Dublin Airport roundabout between heavy traffic. On a number of occasions, his driving forced other drivers to take evasive action to narrowly avoid colliding with his car.

Odinas was being pursued along the M1 motorway when he did a U-turn. At a number of times, he switched the car lights off to try to evade detection, the court heard.

The pursuit ended outside Gormanstown, Co Meath, when gardaí threw a stinger, or spiked device, across the road. All four tyres on the car driven by Odinas were punctured and a number of patrol cars were used to box the car in.

Odinas stopped the car and got out, Garda Young said. She accepted a submission from defending counsel John Byrne SC that from this point his client accepted his arrest and was well mannered towards gardaí.

He was not insured and the car was not taxed. A small amount of cannabis for personal use was found on him, and a large knife was found in the car.

Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting, told the court that 12 Garda vehicles attached to various stations were involved in the pursuit and about 30 minutes into it the Garda national air support unit became involved.

Odinas was released on bail and three months later, plain clothes gardaí on patrol on the Ballymun Road, north Dublin stopped him and found he had 34 bags of MDMA and four bags of Ecstasy tablets.

Garda Pierce O'Dwyer told the court that the tablets had Donald Trump's face stamped on them and that the total estimated street value of the drugs found on Odinas was approximately €60,900.

When stopped by gardaí, Odinas said “I'm sorry, I'm sorry” and told them he was being paid €300 for transporting the drugs. Gda O'Dwyer said that there was no Garda intelligence to suggest he was doing anything other than moving the drugs.

He accepted that Odinas was not on the “garda radar” and is not considered to be part of a “hierarchy”.

Odinas of Sheepmoor Lawns, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 pleaded guilty to possession for sale or supply of MDMA, Ecstasy tablets and Alprazolam tablets on Ballymun Road, on August 3rd 2023.

He also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and endangerment at various locations in north Dublin on May 29, 2023.

His previous convictions include road traffic offences and convictions for fuel drive-off type thefts.

John Byrne SC told the court that his client was 22 at the time of these offences and is a more mature man now.

Judge Sarah Berkeley had adjourned the case after hearing the evidence.

She acknowledged on Tuesday, having considered reports before the court, that Odinas’s teenage drug addiction was linked to his offending behaviour.

She also accepted that he has a supportive partner and young child, and there will be a structure of support for him when he ultimately gets out of prison.

Judge Berkeley also accepted testimonials on behalf of Odinas, which indicate that he is making genuine efforts to turn his life around.

She said he had driven in an extremely dangerous manner, putting himself, his passenger, gardaí and other road users at risk.

Judge Berkeley imposed consecutive sentences of five years, having said that a headline sentence of seven years would be appropriate.

She suspended the final 12 months of the five-year term on condition that Odinas engage with the Probation Service for two years upon his release from prison.

He was disqualified from driving for five years.