A computer company owner who handled almost £240,000 worth of stolen software has been remanded in custody for sentence by Judge Frank O'Donnell in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Colin Kilgannon was apprehended with £125,000 worth of stolen Microsoft equipment only four months after being found with another, £113,000 batch. Ms Deirdre Murphy, counsel for Kilgannon, said her client, who owned Asset Management Consultants Ltd, had acted stupidly but was under severe financial pressure at the time.
Kilgannon (50), of Park Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of handling the software on dates in November 1996 and January 1997.
Judge O'Donnell remanded him in custody for sentence on May 12th.
Det Garda Ian Ferris said that Kilgannon had been persuaded by another computer businessman, Denis McEnteggart from Co Fermanagh, to store the £113,000 software batch.
McEnteggart had helped to steal this batch from Meadow Freight Ltd, along with four others. He was given a suspended sentence at an earlier hearing.
Another co-accused, Michael Moore, was one of two employees who had access codes to change details of the computer stock being held by the company.
A further co-accused, Darren Kavanagh, was stopped by British police following the discovery of the thefts, after he delivered the final load to a warehouse in London. Kavanagh later made a full confession to gardai and led them to a warehouse in Shankill being used by Kilgannon's company.
The court was told that the £125,000 batch of software had been stolen from a company called KAO Info Systems.