James “Mago” Gately, a member of the Hutch organised crime group, has been disqualified from driving after being convicted of driving under the influence of drugs in Co Donegal.
A day after his Coolock home was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, Gately appeared before Letterkenny District Court.
Gately, who has survived multiple attempts on his life by the Kinahan cartel, was charged with driving while exceeding the drug-driving limit on May 7th last. He was stopped at a routine checkpoint at Burn Rock, Killygordon at 2.21pm.
A subsequent blood test found he was over the limit for cannabis.
Sgt Jim Collins told the court that Gately has previous convictions for “a number of minor road traffic matters”, but none for drug-driving.
Judge Éiteáin Cunningham convicted Gately and banned him from driving for one year. He was also fined €200 and given five months to pay. Legal aid was granted.
Gately did not speak as the matter was heard before Judge Cunningham. The court heard he was no longer living at a residence in Coolock and his address was given as Portland Row in Dublin 1.
The Criminal Assets Bureau has alleged that Gately has been linked to armed robberies, gangland murders and drug dealing but he has not been convicted of serious offences.
His property at Glin Drive, Coolock was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau on Tuesday. The property is expected to be sold at an auction.
Gately survived an attempt on his life when he was shot five times when sitting in his car in 2017. A Kinahan gunman, Caolan Smyth, has since been convicted for attempted murder.
In total, seven men associated with the Kinahan cartel have been jailed for plots to kill Gately, including Imre Arakas, an Estonian hitman.
