Men caught with cannabis in car in Offaly 'use it to help them sleep'

Two men appeared at last week's district court on charges of being in possession of cannabis for the purposes of selling or supplying to another.

Sergeant Brendan Kearns said that on January 1, 2023, a vehicle was spotted with two males acting suspiciously at Park View, Edenderry. The two occupants of the car were Kladias Kotis (21) and Arnas Kotkis (20) both of 31 Rectory Meadows Edenderry.

The vehicle was being driven by Kladias Kotis. Gardai got a strong smell of cannabis from inside the car and following a search discovered 16 bags of cannabis and a roll of cannabis under the driver's seat. Neither had previous convictions.

Solicitor Aisling Maloney said Arnas is 20 and Kladias is 21. Both came to Ireland as children. They work at Brady Hams and have been there for two years since they left school.

Ms Maloney said the defendants found it difficult to sleep and were using cannabis to help them sleep. ''That's why they were hiding it under the seat of the car,'' said Judge Andrew Cody. ''Nonsense'' he added.

Judge Cody fined the defendants €500 each and gave them three months to pay.