Man jailed for 10 years after being caught with two large hauls of drugs

Sonya McLean

A man who was caught with two separate large hauls of cocaine and cannabis at his home within one year has been jailed for 10 years.

Robert Cummins (45) of Cushlawn Park, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cannabis herb valued at €196,540 and cocaine valued at €68,327 for sale or supply at his home on August 24th, 2023.

He further pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine valued at €55,695 and cannabis valued at €12,912 for sale or supply at his home on July 18th, 2024 while on bail for the first offence.

Cummins came forward to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on signed pleas from the District Court in relation to the second find.

The drugs were found after confidential information led to a warrant being secured to search Cummins’ home in August 2023. The drugs were found in a shed at the back of the property.

Cummins was not there at the time of the search, but on his return home he took full responsibility for the drugs, telling gardaí they would have been hidden in a “big bag in the shed”.

He said he had them there a couple of hours, having come home from work during his lunchbreak to place them there.

Cummins told gardaí he owed “a few quid from a debt” and that his son had been arrested abroad and he had to post bail. Cummins said he had a gambling debt and a cocaine addiction.

He said he had “always hoped for a big win in the gambling” but it never came so he agreed to mind the drugs in order “to chip away at his debt”.

Confidential information

Cummins home was searched the following July, again after gardaí received confidential information.

He again took responsibility for the drugs, describing himself as a “gillie”. He said it was his job to “babysit” the drugs to chip away at what was now a €10,000 debt.

It was accepted that Cummins' debt had increased because of the loss of the haul of drugs in August 2023.

He told gardaí he was in fear of the people he owed the debt too and gardaí accepted that this was a genuine fear.

Paul Murray SC, defending, handed in a number of documents into court including a testimonial from an employer who was willing to employ Cummins again upon his ultimate release from prison.

Mr Murray said his client was a good and hardworking family man who held down a job during the week “but at weekends and nights the demons descended”.

He has five children and had written a letter for the court to offer “his sincere and utter regret” in relation to what happened.

“If he deals with his demons, he will continue to be a family man and a hard working man,” Mr Murray said, referring to Cummins’ gambling and drug addiction.

Judge Martin Nolan accepted that he was holding the drugs and was “obviously culpable” as he said there was pre-meditation involved.

“I have no doubt he was pressured but that arose because of his own issues,” Judge Nolan commented.

He imposed a seven year sentence for the first drug offence and a consecutive term of three years for the second.