Mayo man jailed after he was found ‘red handed’ with €69,000 worth of cocaine

A MAYO man who was found in possession of close to €70,000 worth of cocaine in Ballinrobe has been sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment.

Denis Gubic (52) of Hawthorn Place, Ballinrobe appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to the possession of 996.6 grams of cocaine worth an estimated €69,692.

The defendant was detected ‘red handed’ after gardaí found him coming out of a hedge carrying the package of cocaine which was in a black bin liner at a property at Cloonkeary, Ballinrobe on June 20, 2023.

Garda James O’Brien explained that he obtained a search warrant after receiving confidential information and entered the property at 4.45pm. Mr Gubic, he said, was at the rear of the property when he was detected by gardaí carrying the backpack which contained the cocaine.

The court heard that Mr Gubic had bought the derelict property at Cloonkeary but had borrowed money from a ‘loan shark’ who was involved in drugs which resulted in him having to store the drugs for this individual.

The defendant also operated an illegal taxi service and he became a drug mule and transported people involved in the drugs trade.

READ: Man who stole Mayo taxi and fled scene sentenced to imprisonment

However, Mr Gubic’s rented accommodation was also searched by gardaí where two digital scales were discovered along with deal bags, €1,800 in €100 notes and €4,200 in cash was discovered.

Garda O’Brien said that Mr Gubic claimed that he bred dogs and the cash was from the sale of pups and the scales were used to measure food and medicine for the dogs.

Mr Brendan McDonagh, counsel for Mr Gubic claimed that his client ‘stumbled into this nefarious business’ as a result of borrowing money from a loan shark and naively did not understand the consequences and the ‘significant obligation’ on him.

Garda O’Brien said as a result of the people Mr Gubic was associating with an operation was put in place but was not aware of any involvement with loan sharks. He said Mr Gubic told gardaí he bought the property for €100,000 and got a loan of €20,000 from a friend and he paid the rest in cash from his own savings.

Scepticism

JUDGE Garavan expressed scepticism that Mr Gubic was not involved in drug dealing himself and was critical that white residual found on scales in the search was not tested for cocaine.

He said there was no evidence to back up the story of owing money to the loan shark and queried if he had built up a ‘nice profit’ from selling drugs and operating an illegal taxi which allowed him to pay for the house. He questioned why someone who claimed to have stored and moved drugs would have deal bags and weighing scales in their home.

Mr McDonagh said his client has been very open about his story to the Probation Service but Judge Garavan said the Probation Service does not investigate what they are told.

Judge Eoin Garavan expressed skepticism at defendant's explanations

Mr McDonagh said he bought the property as a cash purchase but the Criminal Assets Bureau are currently investigating this.

He added that Mr Gubic acknowledged the position he finds himself in and that he does not deny he was involved in the drug trade at ‘a low level’ and that he stored drugs.

Judge Garavan was also informed that Mr Gubic had initially answered questions in his first interview with gardaí after his arrest but later told gardaí he would be making no comment answers on legal advice.

The sentencing hearing heard that the person who gave the legal advice was a barrister and not a solicitor and Mr Gubic subsequently changed his legal team and pleaded guilty to possession of the cocaine for sale or supply.

Mr McDonagh described the advice given as ‘highly irregular’ and that his client should not be punished for the legal advice he was given.

He explained that Mr Gubic is a Serbian national who served in the army during the Yugoslav War as part of his military service but has lived in Ireland for many years. He said he worked in the hospitality business before opening his own clothes shop in Galway in 2007 but had to close it as a result of the economic crash.

He said his client turned to alcohol following this and was an alcoholic for a decade before going ‘cold turkey’ in 2020 and turned his life around. He told Judge Garavan that his client is a hard working man who is currently employed as is his wife and their 20-year-old son is working as an actuary in Dublin.

Remorseful

MR McDonagh added that he let down himself and family and acknowledged his wrongdoing and was remorseful. He said he made an appalling choice and lapse of good judgement to get into the drug trade and become indebted to an ‘undesirable character’.

He said Mr Gubic has no previous convictions apart from two minor road traffic offences and is employed as a computer technician and is a hard worker who is well known in the community.

Mr McDonagh said his client pleaded guilty and asked Judge Garavan to use his discretion and be as lenient as he can when sentencing.

Judge Garavan said the case showed how cocaine continues to blight society and can affect people in different ways. He said he did not accept Mr Gubic’s excuses describing them as a ‘mixture of truth and a mixture of lies’ and added he did not find his reasons credible at all. He said that it seemed that Mr Gubic was motivated by ‘pure old fashioned and simple greed’.

Judge Garavan sentenced Mr Gubic to a sentence of three and a half years but suspended the final year of the sentence for a two-year period. He placed him under the care of the Probation Service for one year post release and commented that he considered the sentence to be lenient in the circumstances.