A soldier found with nearly €27,000 worth of cocaine in his Army barracks room has been jailed for four years.
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard Shane Scanlon (35) served in the Irish Army for 18 years. He became involved in drug dealing because of “financial pressures”, his barrister told the court.
He resigned from the Defence Forces after he was caught with the cocaine in a room he rented in Collins Barracks in Cork on March 27th, 2024.
Det Gda Derry O’Brien said Scanlon, of Cooline Heights, Ballyvolane, Cobh, Co Cork, was the sole occupant of the room. As well as cocaine, gardaí found €1,100 in cash and “numerous drug paraphernalia”, including a blender for mixing drugs, a weighing scales and bags.
Gardaí found evidence of drug dealing on a phone owned by Scanlon, with the offending behaviour going as far back as 2021. A search of his home recovered €2,250 in cash.
Scanlon made full admissions to gardaí upon arrest. He co-operated fully with the Garda investigation.
Det Gda O’Brien said Scanlon was using the Army barracks, rather than his home, as a “safe haven” for storing drugs. The court heard the barracks is constantly guarded.
The father of three has two previous convictions for minor driving offences. He has not come to the attention of gardaí since his arrest. The drug dealing was carried out purely for monetary gain and there is no suggestion of drug addiction or a drug debt, the court heard.
Defence senior counsel Ray Boland said his client resigned from the Army after years of “otherwise exemplary service”.
He asked Judge Dermot Sheehan to impose a fully suspended sentence in light of certain family circumstances of the defendant. He said his client suffered from homelessness in the past.
Mr Boland indicated that Scanlon is keenly aware of the “shame” his conduct brought on his unit.
“He is ashamed of that and remorseful . . . This was done because he was under financial pressure.”
Judge Dermot Sheehan said Scanlon had a lack of “victim awareness” and “empathy” for the consequences of drugs on the citizens of Ireland.
He said the accused was not just storing drugs in his room in the barracks, but was “actively bagging and mixing the product for distribution”.
Judge Sheehan said Scanlon was taking advantage of the barracks being “controlled with armed guards 24 hours a day and 365 days a year”.
Describing what had occurred as an “extraordinary breach of trust”, he jailed Scanlon for five years, but he suspended the last year. He cited the signed plea, the lack of relevant previous convictions and the accused’s personal circumstances as factors in his decision to depart from the otherwise mandatory 10-year sentence for a section 15A offence.
Scanlon previously pleaded guilty to having cocaine at Collins Barracks on March 27th, 2024, for sale or supply. He also admitted possessing cocaine unlawfully on the same datefor his own use.
Scanlon pleaded guilty to money laundering in relation to €1,100 at Collins Barracks and another sum of €2,250 at his home in Cobh.
He entered a guilty plea to having articles, namely a blender and weighing scales, giving rise to a “reasonable inference” they were for the commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug-trafficking offence.
The charge of having cocaine for sale and supply when it exceeds €13,000 comes with a mandatory 10-year minimum prison sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
