Former newsreader and radio presenter jailed after €270,000 drugs haul

A former radio newsreader and presenter who was found in possession of €270,000 worth of drugs after he became involved in dealing arising out of a drug debt has been jailed for eight years.

Pearse McCarthy (52) voluntarily came before Cork Circuit Criminal Court in April on a signed plea of guilty.

He pleaded guilty that on October 27th, 2017, at a property in Kinsale, Co Cork, he had cannabis, cocaine and MDMA for sale or supply.

McCarthy, of Red Abbey Court on Margaret Street in Cork, faced a mandatory sentence of 10 years given that the drugs seized were found to be in excess of €10,000.

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Judge Helen Boyle said that she was able to depart from the mandatory figure arising out of the guilty plea of McCarthy. She also noted his full co operation with gardaí.

However, she stressed he had a “mid ranking role in an organised criminal enterprise” even though he had started to his offending behaviour to pay off a drugs debt.

Defence barrister Jane Hyland said that her client had spent two and a half years in Coolmine treatment centre in the 1990s where he addressed his drugs addiction. He even counselled persons with drug addictions for many years. Ms Hyland said that Mr McCarthy relapsed later in life following the sudden death of his partner.

Det Garda Colin O’Mahony told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that they recovered 2.2kg of cocaine, 2.8kg of cannabis and 950g of MDMA. The drugs had a street value of €270,000.

Dt Garda O’Mahony said that following an extensive and lengthy review of the case it was determined that Mr McCarthy was behind the “controlling and distribution of the drugs”.

He said that Mr McCarthy handled the logistics of the transport of the drugs and used burner phones to conceal his behaviour. He was arrested in August 2021.

Dt Garda O’Mahony said McCarthy admitted that over the course of two and a half to three years in the drug dealing operation he had handled 90 to 100 kilos of drugs with a street value of up to €2 million.

Mr McCarthy’s barrister Jane Hyland said that her client had studied radio broadcasting before taking up as a position as a newsreader. He has always held down employment.

Judge Boyle jailed McCarthy for nine years, suspending the last year of the sentence.

McCarthy is known in Cork for his work as a newsreader and presenter with 96FM and 103FM. He is also a podcaster.