A Letterkenny man was found in possession of almost €4,000 worth of drugs after Gardai noticed that he was acting nervously.
On June 16, 2020, Gardai stopped a vehicle being driven by Ryan Tooms and after speaking to the driver carried out a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Cannabis valued at €50 and €240 worth of cocaine was located in the car. Gardai also seized €355 in cash.
Gardai raided the home of Tooms at Rowan Park, Letterkenny the following day and located a further cache of illegal drugs. There, they located cocaine, a quantity of cannabis, MDMA, 2 C-B and cardboard squashes of LSD.
Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that cocaine valued at €3,040, €260 worth of cannabis, €250 of LSD, €60 of MDMA and €10 of 2 C-B was located in the house.
Sergeant Collins said Tooms has no previous convictions and he was fully co-operative, making admissions that he was supplying the drugs.
Ms Maureen Gallagher, solicitor for Tooms, said her client was ‘in a really bad place’ at the time as the father-of-two was going through a break-up of a relationship.
“He went down this route to gain extra money,” Ms Gallagher said. “Unfortunately for him, it was the wrong thing to do. He has engaged fully with the Gardai and the Probation Service. He fully accepts his actions and the impact on the community.”
Ms Gallagher said Tooms has ‘accepted the error of his ways’ and has enrolled in a course, due to begin in September.
“His mental health was in a very bad place at the time,” Ms Gallagher told the court. “He has turned his life around. The Probation Service says he is a low-risk of reoffending and I don’t think he’ll ever be in front of the court again.”
Judge Éiteáin Cunningham said there were a ‘significant number of matters’ before the court. Judge Cunningham commended Tooms for the steps he has taken to turn his life around.
The matter was adjourned until Thursday next, July 20, for clarification on other charges.