THE "trusted lieutenant" of a major Dublin drugs dealer has been jailed for six years for having heroin worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Thomas Brannigan was found with almost a kilogram of 68 per cent pure heroin when the Garda Drugs Squad raided a flat in 1994. Brannigan told gardai the heroin was owned by his first cousin, who was a boxer.
Insp John Fitzpatrick told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court the heroin had a street value of £700,000 then but would now be worth only £400,000.
He believed Brannigan was an essential cog as the "trusted lieutenant" for his cousin, the main man in a major drugs organisation.
Brannigan had reason to be afraid of his cousin, the garda agreed with defence counsel, Mr Michael Carson SC.
When asked by gardai what his cousin did with all the drugs money, Brannigan said he did not know but his cousin travelled abroad a lot and had been to Hong Kong for the Steve Collins fight some years ago.
Brannigan (30), married with one child, of Leighlin Road, Dublin, pleaded guilty to having the heroin for sale or supply in a flat on St Patrick's Road, Drumcondra, on November 28th, 1994.
Insp Fitzpatrick said Brannigan claimed his cousin had involved him in the operation in March 1994, for which he was paid £2,000. He said his cousin had asked him if he wanted to do a job for him.
All he had to do was to drive to a named spot in north Dublin city and wait in the parked car with the window open. Someone on a motorcycle threw a packet containing two kilograms of heroin into the car.
He took this to a rented flat in Drumcondra, where he divided it into smaller packets for distribution. He said his cousin had shown him how to do this and that his cousin was "too cute" to leave fingerprints and always wore gloves.
His cousin would telephone him to meet him in the Daniel O'Connell pub on Aston Quay, where he would give him names and addresses for deliveries. No money changed hands during the deliveries and all the organisation was done in advance by his cousin.
Insp Fitzpatrick said he did not accept Brannigan's portrayal of himself as a mere courier.