Five people who cultivated over €900,000 cannabis can expect suspended prison sentences, a Circuit Court judge has said.
At Portlaoise Circuit Court, Judge Tony Hunt said three Vietnamese people currently in custody could expect suspended sentences in October if they left Ireland, and two Irish men on bail would face suspended sentences and maximum community service.
The five appeared before him on charges of cultivation and possession of cannabis for sale or supply arising out of two separate grow house finds in Laois last year.
Some €465,600 worth of plants were found in a barn at Kyletalesha, Portlaoise, while €435,600 in plants and harvested cannabis were found at a rented house in Killenard. The five charged in relation to the discoveries were Coung Hy Coa (54), Thi Hoa Nguyen (41) and Hoy Trong Nguyen (37), along with Philip Shanahan (35), Kyletalesha, Portlaoise, and John Cummins (35), Ard Evan Rise, Monasterevin.
The judge said cannabis cultivation was not an appropriate solution for people in financial trouble, and indicated when the five came before him in October, he would suspend sentences for the Vietnamese if they were in a position to leave Ireland and not return for 10 years.
He would impose maximum community service and suspended sentences for the Irish men, saying he doubted the public interest would be served by jailing them.