A young man caught with more than €2,000 of cocaine in Letterkenny has been fined €850.
Gianni Lemienpop, aged 24, appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with having drugs for sale or supply on June 8th, 2023.
The court was told that the accused was observed by Gardai on a footpath at Manor View Park in Letterkenny at approximately 10.35pm.
He was acting suspiciously and Gardai noticed he had a small bag of white powdery substance in his clenched fist and was then arrested.
He was brought back to Letterkenny Garda Station at Newline Road where a search warrant was executed and 31 grammes of cocaine with a street value of €2,170 was found.
Garda Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that the accused man was fully cooperative and compliant.
The court was told that Lemienpop, with an address at Whitechapel Court in Clonsilla, Dublin had previous convictions for criminal damage and obstruction but none under the Drugs Act.
Solicitor for the accused, Mr Rory O’Brien, said his client is now ashamed and embarrassed of the situation he found himself in.
He said he was born and raised in Ireland and that his parents were hard-working people and that the accused had worked in construction in Letterkenny previously.
He said he began using and abusing drugs but that he had saved Gardai a lot of time and a lot of effort in prosecuting the case by cooperating fully.
He added that he was not working at present but was trying to get a SafePass for the construction industry.
Passing sentence, Judge Eiteain Cunningham noted the quantity of drugs was “significant.”
Mr O’Brien replied that his client appreciated the seriousness of the case but again stated that he had cooperated wit the state.
Judge Cunningham fined the accused €850 and gave him six months to pay.