A dealer who had £100,000 worth of heroin hidden up a tree on his land in Co Meath has been jailed for 12 years by Judge Cyril Kelly.
Michael Heeney (39), of Keenogue, Duleek, was arrested in April 1997 with £7,000 worth of heroin. Six months later gardai from the Dublin North Central Divisional Drugs Unit found the cache in the tree.
Heeney, married with one daughter and three sons aged 11 to 21 years, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to having the heroin for supply and to allowing his premises to be used for drug offending.
Judge Kelly refused to give Heeney, known as "Country Mick", a review date and said it would be inappropriate for him to review his own sentence.
Garda Paul Cleary said Heeney was targeted by the drugs unit in Operation Co-operation. He became known to gardai in early 1997 as an important trafficker of heroin.
Heeney was driving a car with his wife as passenger which was stopped on April 22nd, 1997, at a road block.
The car was impounded and the couple were taken to Store Street Garda station. Some batches of heroin were found where the car was stopped and more in the car later. The total amount was valued at £7,000.
Garda Cleary told prosecuting counsel Mr Fergal Foley that on October 1st members of the unit accompanied by the Garda Dog Unit searched Heeney's home and a large quantity of heroin was found up a tree by a sniffer dog.
Cash totalling £9,500 was also seized, along with drug-dealing paraphernalia.
Gardai from Navan found £30,000 during a raid on Heeney's home in September 1997, Garda Cleary added.
Heeney formerly had a coal business which he closed down in February 1997. He and his wife were heroin addicts and he turned to drug dealing as a result of this.
Garda Cleary said he admitted he was selling in the Dublin inner city area on a daily basis and was disposing of half a kilogram of heroin per month by October 1997. He would have been earning a substantial amount of money.
Garda Cleary agreed with defence counsel Mr Patrick Gageby and Mr Giolliosa O Lideadha that Heeney had been fully frank with them.
He did not have a lavish lifestyle as a result of his drug dealing. Before becoming a drug dealer he was a person of good character.
The family had two cars and lived in a three-bedroom bungalow. One of his sons was in custody for firearms and other offences.
Garda Cleary said Heeney had a minimum of four people selling for him on the streets. By October 1997 he would have been selling uncut heroin to people who would then prepare it for selling by others.
Mr Gageby asked the court to give Heeney some credit for his "incredible honesty".
He had not tried to blame anyone but himself for his offending, and was nowhere in the same league as others, such as Felloni, who had come before the court.
It was not the biggest case to come before the court.
Heeney accepted that he had to get a stiff sentence but Mr Gageby asked the court to consider granting him a review date so that he could come to court and prove that he had used his time well in prison.
Judge Kelly said the offences were serious although there was no evidence that Heeney enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle as a result of his offending. His urine analysis report indicated also he still had an addiction problem.
Heeney represented a substantial piece in the jigsaw of the north inner city network, but it was true there were others who enjoyed more of the fruits of drug trafficking and none of the disadvantages and would evade justice.
Judge Kelly said he was conversant with connected cases which had come before the court.
He would not make any comment on the fact that his wife was with him on the first occasion. She had children to care for.
"But the court also has a duty to the children of the inner-city area which has been devastated by heroin in recent years.
"Most of the crime, including syringe robberies, from that area is due to heroin addiction, while all of that cannot be laid at this defendant's door," said Judge Kelly.