OWNERSHIP or knowledge of drugs found concealed in a deodorant canister in the passenger footwell of a parked car in Bantry was refuted by a man from Drimoleague who was charged with having cocaine for sale or supply.
Stephen McCarthy (28), who operates a plant hire and construction company, and lives at Gurranes North in Drimoleague, denied that the 16 individual wraps of cocaine concealed in the plastic container on St Patrick’s Day, 2023, had anything to do with him.
His solicitor Flor Murphy engaged in a lengthy defence when the case was called for hearing at a recent sitting of Bantry District Court.
Mr Murphy argued that the passenger in the car – who was not before the court on this occasion – had already pleaded guilty to an offence related to this incident.
Court presenter Insp Roisin O’Dea told the court that Garda Jason Daly saw the vehicle pull up outside a building in the town and a suspicious transaction take place between the passenger in the car and a pedestrian.
Stephen McCarthy admitted he was the driver of the Skoda Octavia, a vehicle that he had borrowed for the day.
He also stated that his passenger had handed €200 to a friend before they went to the petrol station.
Garda Daly followed the car to the forecourt, where it was parked up, and spoke to both the passenger and the driver, and carried out a search.
In evidence, Garda Daly said the driver had €1,690 in cash on his person but nothing else was found until he noticed some cling film sticking out under the cap of the canister.
The garda said the canister had been lying in the footwell on the passenger’s side.
He unscrewed it and saw that the deodorant container was hollow, save for the 16 individual wraps of white powder that later was confirmed to be cocaine.
It was stated in evidence that the drug seized weighed 12.6g and had a street value of €882.
Both the passenger and Stephen McCarthy denied any wrongdoing and in evidence in his own defence Stephen McCarthy said he had received the money that day from Catherine and Mary Wharton, after doing groundworks for them in Kenmare.
He produced photographs of the work done, and a receipt for the completed works, but the money was seized by the gardaí.
Stephen McCarthy’s phone was also seized during the search and after it was unlocked – using the owner’s access code – Garda Daly said there was a thread of messages that related to drug dealing.
He cited one message asking: ‘Any coke?’ to which Stephen McCarthy replied: ‘Yeah.’
But in his own defence, Stephen McCarthy said he, personally, was not selling or supplying cocaine to anyone.
‘I am not involved in drugs. I had no idea the drugs were in the car,’ he stated in evidence. I had no idea he (the passenger) had it with him in the car.’
‘There was nothing found on the driver’s side,’ Mr Murphy submitted on behalf of his client.
And, in mitigation, the solicitor also pointed out that Mr McCarthy has no previous convictions.
In his own defence, the accused said there is nothing illegal in having cash in your possession for work completed earlier that day.
He said he knew the passenger, his friend, from dealing with scrap cars and scrap metal.
As for answering the text asking: ‘Any coke?’ with the word ‘yeah’, the accused said he knew where people could get it.
He said if he were to be prosecuted for making that remark ‘the whole youth of Bantry could be charged’.
Insp O’Dea asked why he was driving a car with a known drug dealer and why he was getting calls from people looking for drugs.
In reply, the accused insisted he was a self-employed business person working in plant hire, and had nothing to do with drugs.
Judge Monika Leech said she was aware that the passenger has entered a guilty plea – which will be dealt with on another date – and that the accused cannot be convicted by association.
But she said she didn’t accept that he knew nothing about the drugs in the car.
‘I am of the view that he was fully aware of what he was doing, and that the prosecution must succeed,’ she said.
‘I do not accept that he simply brought the cash into town with him,’ said the judge, who also noted that there was ‘incriminating evidence on the phone’.
But the judge did not convict the accused – instead she gave him the benefit of a conditional discharge, which means he is to enter into a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for the next 18 months.
The bond entered into by the accused will require him to be under the immediate supervision of the Probation Service.
