Suspended sentence for man found in possession of large amount of cocaine in Tullamore

A man charged with being in possession of cocaine for the purposes of selling or supplying it to another, said the drug was for his own use.

Bernie Ward, 146, Arden View, Tullamore, appeared at a recent sitting of Tullamore district court.

In his evidence to the court, Sgt James O'Sullivan said that on September 16, 2021, Gardai acting on foot of a bench warrant entered the above address.

There they found a large bag of white powder and other white substance along with drug paraphernalia.

Sgt O'Sullivan said the value of the drugs was €2,964. The defendant was arrested and the drugs sent away for testing. Mr Ward made admissions and said the cocaine found was for his own use. The other white substance was Benzocaine.

Judge Andrew Cody noted this was the seventh time the defendant had been before the court and said he had waited until the last minute to plead guilty. Mr Ward had four previous convictions.

Barrister Aine Rush said the defendant was 23 and suffers with mental health issues. She said he did make an admission at an early stage.

She said the quantity was quite large but he was no longer taking drugs. She suggested maybe the court could keep an eye on him. She said he is working hard to clean up his life.

Judge Cody imposed a six month sentence which he suspended for three years. He took the offence of being in possession of the drugs into consideration