A MONAGHAN man who fled the country six years ago because he received a death threat after being caught transporting cannabis resin valued at more than €2 million has been jailed for 6½ years.
Paul Byrne (48) got a Mass card in his name through the post after Customs officers uncovered the drugs stashed in boxes of tiles he was carrying in his truck.
The father of six remained abroad until he surrendered to gardaí earlier this year. He later admitted himself to custody when it was discovered that the warrant initially issued for his arrest in 2005 had never been generated.
Byrne of Concra, Castleblayney, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the drugs for sale or supply on the Swords Road, Santry, on July 11th, 2003. His three previous convictions are for minor offences.
Byrne told gardaí he was to get €1,600 to transport the haul, worth an estimated €2,025,000.
Judge Martin Nolan said it was a substantial cache of drugs and Byrne must have known it was a large amount because he needed a truck to transport it.
“He took a risk for a low amount of money and was deemed expendable for those he was transporting the drugs for,” the judge said.
Det Garda Paul Darley told Cathleen Noctor, prosecuting, that a warrant was issued for Byrne’s arrest after he failed to appear for a hearing in February 2005. This was then executed in April this year and he was remanded in custody. He said Customs officers were carrying out a routine check in a yard in Santry in 2003 when Byrne arrived to collect two pallets from a container that had travelled from Spain via Antwerp. Each pallet carried 64 cartons of tiles.
The cartons were later inspected and found to contain packages of cannabis resin concealed in holes that had been hollowed out of the tiles. Det Garda Darley said that although Byrne had been on the premises when the Customs officers arrived, he left soon after and would not answer his phone. The Gardaí were alerted and a surveillance operation was put in place.
Byrne returned to the yard later that evening having asked for the pallets to be loaded onto his truck. He was then followed by gardaí as he drove the vehicle away and was stopped a short time later.