Drugdealer handed down prison sentence at Kilkenny court

A defendant who admitted having almost €19,000 of cocaine and cannabis in his possession for sale or supply was sentenced to 18 months behind bars at Kilkenny Circuit Court.

TJ Hendrick, 31 Ard Daire, Ferrybank pleaded guilty to the offence contrary to section 15(a) of The Misuse of Drugs Act and also to a money laundering offence.

Garda John O’Connor gave evidence that on September 8, 2021 he executed a search warrant at the home of the defendant in Ferrybank. The defendant escorted Garda O’Connor to a shed and showed him a box that contained cannabis. Two blocks of white powder were found in the wardrobe of an upstairs bedroom with ‘TJ’ written on each block. The white blocks of cocaine were valued at €17,409 and the cannabis with a value of €1,504.

The defendant was arrested and interviewed in relation to the sale and supply of drugs.

A mobile phone was also seized and messages of relevance were secured by gardaí. The messages contained communications about collecting money which gardaí believe to be a drug debt and also related to the supply of drugs.

Gda O’Connor told the court that the defendant was sourcing drugs from outside Waterford and was dealing in Waterford and was described in court as ‘a middle man drug dealer’ who was ‘doing it for profit’.

At the time of the offences the defendant was not working and was on social welfare. The court also heard that the defendant was co-operative with gardaí and gardaí furnished him with details of his bank accounts.

The defendant also pleaded to a charge of money laundering which related to sums totalling €1,000, which was the proceeds from drugs, which was lodged into his account.

The defendant has 11 previous convictions for road traffic offences.

The defendant’s barrister said that his client was a father of two who was funding his own drug habit at the time and hasn’t come to garda attention since.

A letter of apology handed into the court and the defendant also apologised to his family for the ‘shame and hurt’ he had caused them. The court heard that the defendant had started selling drugs to clear a drug debt and that he was now clean and sober and working full time.

At the height of his addiction the defendant was spending €500 a week on cocaine .

Judge Elva Duffy said that the defendant had ‘actively engaged in drug dealing for profit and was using some of the proceeds to fund his addictions’.

“This was not the lowest rung of the ladder. He was actively engaged in being a drug dealer,” said the judge adding that the defendant does appear to have made a number of positive changes.

Judge Duffy convicted the defendant on both charges and sentenced him to two years in prison and suspended the final six months on condition that the defendant engage with the Probation Services for one year post release.