Mayo man (43) who stole cannabis to pay off drug debt given suspended jail term

A man who sold cannabis to pay off a drug debt has received a suspended jail term.

Edward Coyne, aged 43, of Lough Mask Road, Ballinrobe, pleaded guilty last year at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to the offence.

Garda Darragh Devine told the court that officers searched Coyne's former home at Brewery Court, Ballinrobe, on June 2, 2021.

Cannabis with a street value of €6,086 was found, along with a weighing scales.

Coyne made full admissions and said he had a €2,100 drug debt. The father-of-eight has 39 previous convictions. He claimed to be drug-free for three years and alcohol-free for eight.

However, Judge Eoin Garavan expressed concern about Coyne's drug-free status at the original hearing, citing a recent drug-driving conviction.

Coyne claimed he had inadvertently consumed a jelly which he found in his car and did not know contained cannabis.

Judge Garavan said he had misgivings about the ‘stray jelly’ and the case was adjourned for hair follicle testing.

Coyne produced testing in February that showed he was cannabis-free for the past 12 months, but the test was limited to cannabis.

The case was adjourned until last week for a more complete hair follicle test, with Coyne testing negative for drugs.

Judge Eoin Garavan handed down a two-year suspended jail term.

* Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.