Waterford man in possession of €166,000 worth of drugs is jailed
Waterford Courthouse
A Waterford man was sentenced last week for possessing drugs valued at over €166,000 in his family home.
45-year-old Alan Wall, of Rice Park, Waterford City, pleaded guilty to a Section 15A Misuse of Drugs count.
He appeared via video link from Portlaoise Prison to Waterford Circuit Court for sentencing on Friday, October 24.
Alan Wall was first identified after customs officials intercepted a package which was addressed to his family home.
At the time, Wall was living in a shed connected to the residence.
The package contained two kilograms of cocaine.
Gardaí undertook a controlled delivery of the package to the residence and executed a search warrant.
In the home, Gardaí found additional substances, including MDMA tablets, cannabis and benzocaine powder.
Wall was not present at the time of the search. He was subsequently located in Dublin, and was charged and interviewed.
During interviews with Gardaí, he denied ordering the package.
He took responsibility for ownership of the drugs which were found within the residence however and told gardaí that other persons residing in the property had nothing to do with the offences.
One other individual was arrested at the house. Gardaí concluded they had no involvement or awareness of the package.
The total value of the cocaine within the package was €140,000.
The MDMA had a value of €25,818 and the cannabis value amounted to €519.
The total value of all substances found was €166,337.
Gardaí determined that Wall did not have the financial means to purchase such a quantity of drugs on his own, but that he was associated with individuals who did, and he facilitated the delivery of the drugs to his residence.
An investigating Garda member said during the court hearing that Wall was “known to be involved in the drug scene in Waterford on a mid to high level”.
He was on bail at the time of his arrest for a separate misuse of drugs offence.
He has forty previous convictions and has spent a considerable amount of time in custody.
He had previously served a lengthy prison sentence for participating in a post office robbery and having possession of a firearm in 2018.
In sentencing the man, Judge Eugene O’Kelly said to the court that Wall was “an essential cog in a criminal enterprise”.
Wall was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with the final two years suspended.
