Mayo man pleads guilty to possession of cocaine worth over €30,000

A MAYO man has pleaded guilty to the possession of cocaine worth over €30,000 which was discovered after he crashed a car in Breaffy following a high speed Garda chase.

Seán O'Kelly (33) of Riverside, Ballinrobe Road, Westport appeared before this morning's sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court where he pleaded guilty to the possession of cocaine with a value of €30,000 or more for sale or supply at Cottage Road, Breaffy on February 12, 2023.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving at Springvale, Ballinrobe, Ballintubber village and Cottage Road, Breaffy which all also occurred on February 12, 2023.

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A previous court sitting heard that Mr O'Kelly was a driver of a silver coloured 2012 registered Volkswagen Passat that failed to stop for gardaí outside Ballinrobe on February 12, 2023.

The vehicle was pursued by Garda patrol cars and was involved in a number of incidents of dangerous driving before the vehicle crashed at Cottage Road in Breaffy.

A large stash of suspected cocaine was discovered in the car and at the time of the offence it was estimated that it had a street value of €70,000.

Mr O'Kelly was charged with 13 counts of dangerous driving as well as possession of cocaine but Patrick Reynolds, counsel for the prosecution told Judge Eoin Garavan that the DPP was accepting the defendant's plea to three counts of dangerous driving on a full facts basis.

Mr Reynolds asked Judge Garavan to adjourn the case to July 11 for sentencing.

Mr John Berry, senior counsel for Mr O'Kelly explained that since his client received High Court bail he has engaged with the Probation Service and asked for an updated probation report before the sentence hearing.

He added he has also undergone two courses of treatment for addiction issues and was willing to provide urinalysis to the court.

Mr Berry also asked that legal aid be extended for a psychologist report and for his client to be remanded on the same bail conditions.

Mr Reynolds confirmed that the prosecution has no concerns regarding his bail conditions and Judge Garavan adjourned sentencing until July 11 for the preparation of an updated probation report along with urinalysis as well as a psychologist report. He remanded Mr O'Kelly on bail with the same terms and conditions.

Judge Garavan was also informed that a co-accussed, Wayne Cooney of Pearse Terrace, Westport is contesting charges against him in relation to the same incident.

Mr Martin Durack, counsel for Mr Cooney said his client will be seeking a trial date and Judge Garavan adjourned this matter to March 3 to fix a date for a trial.