A man has been jailed for eight years by Judge Patrick McCartan for his role in a £3.4 million drugs operation.
Eugene Kelly (24), of Sheridan Court, Dorset Street, Dublin, was found guilty last Thursday of three charges in connection with cannabis resin found during a Garda raid on a house at Pineview Road, Tallaght, on November 13th, 1997.
Judge McCartan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court described the scale of the drugs operation as "colossal" and congratulated the Garda drugs unit for its work on the case.
Gardai were able to follow Kelly throughout the day and arrested him when he returned to the Tallaght address on a motorcycle in convoy with a car. Judge McCartan noted that the car contained another consignment of cannabis and he said Kelly was an active participant in the operation which involved a Dublin inner city gang and a gang in Amsterdam.
The cannabis resin had been shipped to Ireland in potted plants which were delivered to a garden centre in Co Kildare.
Kelly had pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of the cannabis resin and having it for sale or supply on November 13th, 1997.