A haulier who abandoned a £2.4 million consignment of cannabis at a Dublin warehouse after transporting it from Holland has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years by Judge Elizabeth Dunne.
Robert Brown (33), of Whitestown Estate, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful possession of the drugs for sale or supply on August 15th, 1999. The court was told Brown ran his own haulage business but had got into financial difficulty. He agreed to accept "a substantial sum of money" from criminals to pick up the drugs in Holland on one of his frequent continental trips. Brown arrived at the warehouse with "legitimate cargo" as well as the cannabis but his conscience got the better of him and he abandoned the drugs. He was arrested soon after and took full responsibility for his role in the crime.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne said she felt there were exceptional and specific circumstances, as laid out in the legislation, for her to consider a departure from the mandatory 10-year sentence. She suspended the last year of the sentence because he abandoned the drugs in the knowledge he would be caught and because of the "great assistance" he gave gardai.