Dublin 'heavy' sentenced after travelling to Mayo to intimidate people over drug debts

A Dublin 'heavy' who travelled to west Mayo to intimidate the families of people with drug debts was sentenced to two and a half years in jail.

Bervey Elobo (26) of 33 Hamilton Terrace, Balbriggan, Co Dublin appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court where he was sentenced after pleading to four counts of criminal damage to the windows of four homes on January 4 last.

The defendant was one of four people who visited four homes in Westport, Fahy and Newport and broke windows in homes of people who had a drug debt. The three other defendants are due to appear before the court later in the sittings and cannot be named.

Sergeant Noel Crinnegan explained that Mr Elobo and another man arrived from Dublin and were collected by two local men in Castlebar who acted as guides for them.

They visited two homes in Tubberhill and Monument View in Westport at 8.35pm and 8.39pm and broke windows before travelling by car to Dugary in Newport where they broke another window in a home at around 9.25pm.

They then travelled to a house in Fahy where they also smashed windows. However, the occupants of the house gave chase and the four defendants abandoned their car after turning into a cul de sac. The occupants fled across a field on foot and Gardaí recovered the abandoned car.

Gardaí set up checkpoints and the two local men were soon arrested and detained and Sgt Crinnegan said gardaí later detected Mr Elobo and the other Dublin based defendant hiding under a mobile home in Ryan's Steelworks on the Lodge Road in Westport.

Previous convictions

The court heard that Mr Elobo had been 'on the run' at the time of the offending after being sentenced to 22 months in his absence at a court in Dublin in February 2025.

Sgt Crinnegan said that Mr Elobo was interviewed four times after he was arrested and made admissions in his third and fourth interview.

When asked why he committed the offences, Mr Elobo said it was drug related and the houses targeted owned money for the sons who needed to pay. Sgt Crinnegan said gardaí established that a son in each household had drug debts some of which were significant and some not so significant.

Sgt Crinnegan said that the purpose of the criminal damage was to intimidate the people in the house to pay the drug debt. The court also heard that the victims in the case all declined the opportunity to provide victim impact statements.

The court heard that Mr Elobo has 16 previous convictions which included possession of drugs, damaging property and theft and started serving the sentence imposed in 2025 on January 6 last and the sentence is to expire on July 5, 2027.

Diarmuid Connolly, counsel for Mr Elobo said his client expressed remorse after he was arrested and the early guilty plea prevented a lengthy trial.

When questioned by Mr Connolly, Sgt Crinnegan accepted that the four men did not threaten anyone face to face at the houses and left after smashing the windows with hammers. He also accepted that the other defendant from Dublin was the ringleader and Mr Elobo was the second in command while the two local men acted as guides to show them where the houses were.

Mr Connolly told Judge Eoin Garavan that the timing of the sentencing could not have been at a worse time for his client in light of the deaths of four people in Waterford after a house was attacked due to a drug debt.

He said what occurred in Mayo was at the opposite end of what happened in Waterford but was also not claiming it was trivial.

Mr Elobo, he said, was anxious to plead and deal with the matter at the earliest opportunity and revealed that while in custody he missed the birth of his first child in August. He said he comes from a good family but has addiction issues with cocaine and as a result got caught up in the drug world.

He said he is not work shy and has done all sorts of jobs varying from a kitchen port to a kitchen fitter and these jobs were secured through an employment agency. He added he is an enhanced prisoner while in custody and wished to address his addiction issues.

Mr Connolly accepted that he could not escape the aggravating factors in this case but added there were a number of mitigating factors and asked Judge Eoin Garavan to take into account his clients remorse and the fact he is now a father when sentencing.

Brazen

Judge Garavan described what happened as a serious matter and that Mr Elobo and another person had travelled to west Mayo for the purposes of warning drug debtors to sort themselves out and to intimidate them.

“The two guys from Dublin were the professionals and the heavies or the ones who were going to do the physical act of intimidation as distinct from the guides but were both necessary to carry out the plan of attack.

“The purpose of this criminal damage was sinister and threatening and to ensure that other people in the houses where they lived were warned and to frighten them. That is what makes this matter egregious,” he said.

Judge Garavan said Mr Elobo and others were procured by whoever was owed the money to do his dirty work and described what they did as brazen and considered.

He noted that Mr Elobo was on cocaine at the time of the offence but was not convinced that he was serious about tackling his addiction issues and that his involvement with addiction services was to have something positive in a report.

He said he is considered at high risk of reoffending and described it as extraordinary that he was 'at large' for eleven months and was happy to travel to Westport to commit offences.

“It was brazen to put it mildly,” he said.

Judge Garavan sentenced Mr Elobo to two and a half years imprisonment and refused to suspend any portion of it saying it was far too serious. He added that the sentence will commence after he has served the sentence he is currently in custody for.

He expressed sympathy for Mr Elobo's partner and his child but stressed this was the consequences of what he did and hopes he comes out as a better father and partner for it.