A convicted drug dealer and robber who was operating "a heroin-mixing factory" in west Dublin has been jailed for ten years.
Philip Delaney (34) of Allenton Drive, Tallaght, was found guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court earlier this month by a jury after a three-day trial of having heroin valued some €84,000 for sale or supply on December 6th, 2004.
The court heard that after Garda surveillance was placed on the Allenton Drive premises on December 6th, 2004, and a search warrant obtained, Delaney's cousin, Christopher Markouski, was seen at the house by watching gardaí, and later Delaney arrived carrying a large bag.
Gardaí then entered the house and found all the signs that a room was being used as a heroin-mixing factory. Gardaí recovered almost 420 grams of heroin valued at up to €84,000, the court was told.
Detective Garda Frank O'Neill said he was covered in heroin powder when he successfully stopped Delaney from leaving by a bedroom window. He got both of them out of the room quickly for safety.
Delaney claimed he didn't know what was going on in the house, but he pleaded guilty at the start of his trial to possession of a small bag containing heroin that was found in a bedroom at the house on the same date.
Delaney's 14 previous convictions include a 12-year sentence imposed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in 1998 when the court was told he was the person who introduced heroin to Tallaght. That sentence was reduced to seven years on appeal.
Unemployed and the father of two young children, Delaney has a total of 14 previous convictions dating back to 1987, including a four-year sentence in 1994 for robbery and possession of a firearm.