Man was transporting drugs when his car overturned in south Longford

A 26 year-old man with an 'appalling' record, who was transporting drugs when his car overturned in south Longford with drugs worth €12,622 inside, has been jailed for 20-months.

Addict Stephen Hurley (26) of Brawny Crescent, Athlone pleaded guilty at Longford Circuit Criminal Court to possessing drugs for the purpose of sale or supply at Ballymulvey Road, Ballymahon on August 26, 2023.

Garda Barry Gillespie of Ballymahon Garda Station said he started his tour of duty at 7am and just before 11am he was alerted that there had been a single vehicle crash and a Volkswagen car had overturned and was on its roof.

Gardaí received a report that three men and a woman had exited the vehicle and fled and ran down towards Newcastle Woods.

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Garda Gillespie said when he arrived at the scene he called for further Garda assistance to find the driver and occupants of the car as he was 'concerned for their welfare'.

The officer said he got a strong smell of cannabis from the vehicle and after an initial search he found a bag of cannabis valued at  €12,622.

Garda Gillespie stated the surrounding area was searched by Gardaí but the driver and occupants of the vehicle were not found.

Officers managed to find a mobile phone top-up credit receipt in the vehicle, which was purchased from Nolan's service station in Newtownforbes one week previously.

Garda Gillespie said they visited the store and viewed CCTV where they observed a man matching Hurley's description getting out of a similar Volkswagen vehicle.

The car had a different registration plate which officers learned was the original and they established a false 2008 number plate was on the car when the crash occurred and the drugs were found.

Gardaí were able to establish a definitive link between Mr Hurley and the vehicle.

Garda Gillespie said bloodstains were found on the driver's side airbag and the front passenger airbag inside the car that were swabbed and sent off to Forensic Science Ireland where the stains were confirmed as the defendant's blood.

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Officers were also able to directly link Mr Hurley to the drugs as his fingerprints were found on the drug wrappings.

Despite this evidence being put to him the defendant denied he had intentionally handled the drugs and he claimed his fingerprints  were on the drugs due to them being thrown around the car during the crash.

The court heard Mr Hurley had 69 previous convictions, including 23 drugs-related offences.

The defendant is currently serving an eight year prison sentence at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise.

That sentence was imposed by Judge Keenan Johnston in November last year after Mr Hurley was caught by Gardaí, who intercepted his car with a controlled stop at Ballymore, county Westmeath while he was  transporting drugs worth €83,800, on September 11, 2023.

The defendant pleaded guilty to possessing drugs for the purpose of sale or supply and having stolen property and he was subsequently convicted.

Garda Gillespie said Mr Hurley had been in and out of prison since he was 15, he was heavily involved in crime and he offered little or no assistance to Gardaí. "He has given no indication who the other occupants in the vehicle were."

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Counsel for the defence, John Hayden SC, said the cannabis offence at Ballymulvey Road, Ballymahon predated the offence where his client was caught transporting the drugs worth €83,800. "He is before the courts for a long time and there were difficulties as a child he was experiencing from 14-to-18 years of age."

Mr Hayden suggested his client, who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome [a form of autism] several years ago and he was naive when it came to getting involved in criminality.

"He is being supported at all times by his mother who is in court but unfortunately Stephen hasn't always accepted that help.

"He said he was a person who was easily led and he seems to have been influenced by other people.”

Judge Kenneth Connolly said the aggravating factors were the impact of drugs on society, families, communities and on individuals themselves who are involved in taking drugs and he referred to the substantial previous convictions.

"This really is one of the worst records that the court has seen and unfortunately it's saying something as the court sees quite a lot.

"But to have amassed such a significant number of previous convictions and such serious previous convictions at the age of 25 is a real personal tragedy for Mr Hurley."

Judge Connolly sentenced the defendant to 32 months in prison with the final 12-months suspended for a two year period to 'offer some light at the end of the tunnel'.

Mr Hurley was directed to enter a probation bond, follow all directions of the probation services and attend all recommended drug counselling services, attend meetings with an employment officer and also to abstain from taking drugs.

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