€70k of drugs were inadvertently destroyed after garda raid, court hears

Gardaí seized about €140,000 of cocaine during a raid last year before half of it was 'inadvertently destroyed', a court has heard.

Gardaí were carrying out surveillance on a criminal gang in Tallaght, Dublin in April last year and got a search warrant to search the house and car of a suspect, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday (Tuesday, April 30 last).

When they searched the house and car of Dominik Kaczmarek, they found two kilos of cocaine in his car, Garda Stephen Gillespie told Kate Egan BL, prosecuting.

Each kilo of cocaine was worth €70,028, however Gda Gillespie said one kilo of cocaine was 'inadvertently destroyed' when it was being moved by gardaí.

It was therefore never analysed and Kaczmarek was charged on the basis of one kilo.

Kaczmarek (32) of Decoy, Osberstown, Naas, County Kildare, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing cocaine for sale or supply at his then home address in Tallaght on April 24, 2023.

He has a number of previous convictions and previously served a two year sentence for a drug offence.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, said his client had a dysfunctional family life and struggled with drug addiction.

There was no sign he was benefitting financially from transporting the drugs, the court heard.

He has a wife and small children.

Sentencing Kaczmarek, Judge Martin Nolan noted he had a long history of addiction and that third parties used this addiction to get him to transport their drugs.

He handed down a five and a half year sentence and suspended the final year on a number of conditions.