A Cork man described as being "in the upper echelons of the Irish drug scene" was yesterday handed the longest sentence for a drugs offence by an Irish court when he was jailed for 22 years.
Edward Judd Scanlon (49), a father of three, with an address at Laburnum Drive, Model Farm, Cork, was a leading member of a major drugs gang involved in importing and distributing cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine in Ireland, the Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard.
Det Insp Tony Quilter of the Cork City Divisional Drugs Unit, who led the investigation against Scanlon, welcomed the 22-year sentence as a major boost in the fight against the drug barons and their couriers. "It shows the ability and determination of the State to deal with the so-called untouchables of the drug trade," he said.
He and colleague, Det Sgt Mick Fitzpatrick, provided crucial evidence in the case.
The two officers had been off duty on March 20th, 1997, when they saw Scanlon hand over a hold-all bag to a Dublin drugs courier, Christopher O'Doherty (32), at the Tennis Village near Scanlon's home on the Model Farm Road.
They radioed to colleagues, and O'Doherty was stopped in a hackney in Cork city where drug squad detectives found £20,000 worth of ecstasy in the hold-all bag and a further £15,000 worth of cocaine hidden under his jumper.
O'Doherty, who was jailed for possessing the drugs for supply, refused to identify Scanlon in court because he had been threatened and feared for his family, but he did confirm that he met a man called Eddie in Cork on March 20th.
The man met him near the Coliseum in Cork and later at O'Driscoll's pub in Douglas from where he drove him into the country to collect some cocaine and then brought him to the Tennis Village where he handed him a bag with ecstasy.
O'Doherty's evidence, corroborated by the eyewitness accounts of the handover from Det Insp Quilter and Det Sgt Fitzpatrick, was sufficient to convince the jury that Scanlon was guilty of possessing both drugs for supply.
Yesterday Det Insp Quilter said Scanlon "was no courier. He was in the upper echelons of the drug trade in Ireland . . . He was part of a gang involved in the importation and distribution of cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy around the country."
He and his associates resorted to threats and intimidation to keep people silent which made it difficult to catch them, Det Insp Quilter said, adding they had been monitoring him for 10 years. Scanlon had denied the charge throughout his trial and yesterday sought to present himself as a respectable businessman as he told how he repaired houses, ran a restaurant and once tried to start a hydro-electricity project.
Judge A.G. Murphy said that, like the jury, which was not convinced by his explanation for meeting O'Doherty, he, too, found it difficult to believe what Scanlon said and he was satisfied Scanlon was a significant figure in the drugs trade.
At an earlier sitting, British customs and police gave evidence of Scanlon being jailed for seven years for importing £2.5 million worth of heroin in 1980 and for three years in 1986 for conspiring to import cocaine.
Mr Sean O Donnabhain, prosecuting, produced further evidence of convictions going back to 1970 against Scanlon when he was convicted of possessing heroin in the Bronx in New York and at Marylebone in London.
Judge Murphy said: "There is no doubt but that this man is a drugs supplier in the higher echelons of this filthy trade . . . These criminals prey on the weak and the stupid, adding misery to the lives of many, sometimes encompassing early death."
He noted that Scanlon never made any admission or pleaded guilty, which would have been the most important mitigating factor, but had fought the case tooth and nail over a long period. "Even today, not a scintilla of remorse has been expressed."
Judge Murphy said it was clear that Scanlon had been involved in the drugs scene for many years and was "a thorough criminal with no reasonable prospect of reform or rehabilitation".
"The anger of society against the drugs barons must be reflected in any sentence I impose . . . The light at the end of the tunnel in these circumstances is faint. It seems to me the appropriate sentence is 22 years."
Judge Murphy praised Det Insp Quilter and Det Sgt Fitzpatrick for their vigilance in spotting Scanlon handing over the drugs while they were off duty and he also praised O'Doherty for testifying in the face of threats and intimidation.
