Man had over €5k worth of cannabis in vehicle

A 26-YEAR-OLD Baltinglass man has pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with a street value of €5,606 following a search of his home and vehicle last month.

Andrew Doran, Lathaleer, Baltinglass, Co Wicklow appeared before Judge Geraldine Carthy at Carlow District Court charged with possession of an illegal substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The court heard that on 20 December 2024, Garda Whelan executed a search warrant on premises occupied by Mr Doran in Baltinglass. A vehicle parked near the house, belonging to the accused, was also searched during the operation.

During the search, gardaí discovered a large bag of suspected cannabis along with a smaller amount of the drug. The total street value of the cannabis seized was €5,606.

The court was told that Mr Doran had seven previous convictions, including three related to drug possession dating from 2020 and 2021. His other previous convictions were for road traffic matters.

Defence solicitor Chris Hogan, appearing for the accused, told the court in mitigation that his client lives with his mother and had co-operated fully with gardaí. Mr Hogan asked the judge to give his client credit for entering a guilty plea.

Garda Whelan confirmed that Mr Doran had co-operated fully during the investigation, providing the keys to his car and returning to the garda station to answer questions. While he did not make a formal admission at the time, he later entered a guilty plea to the charges.

Judge Carthy ordered a probation report to be prepared and adjourned the case for eight weeks to allow time for its completion.

The case will return to Carlow District Court for sentencing following preparation of the probation report.