Two 'drug mules' caught with huge amount of cannabis on Tipperary motorway are jailed

Two Albanian men have been jailed by Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court after they were found with cannabis valued at just under €300,000.

Matian Kroi, 42, of Arndale Court, Ellen Avenue, Chatham, Kent, England, and Konstandin Osmenaj, 33, of no fixed abode, both pleaded guilty to two counts of Section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Det Garda Andrew Loughlin of Nenagh Garda Station gave evidence of being on mobile patrol on the M7 outside Nenagh on August 6, 2022. He was accompanied by Sgt Ger Harrington in an unmarked garda vehicle.

They observed a black Nissan Juke being driven southbound at speed with two male occupants, who appeared suspicious.

They requested assistance from Nenagh colleagues also on patrol in the area and stopped the Nissan at Lisatunny.

They searched both men. The driver, Mr Kroi, was in possession of two pouches of tobacco.

Garda Loughlin searched these and found two small bags containing a white powder substance. The gardaí arrested the two men and brought them and their vehicle to Nenagh Garda Station.

On searching the Nissan, Garda Loughlin discovered a secret compartment in the boot. He said it was a fabrication that was not part of the original manufacture.

The compartment could be unlocked using a key fob that the gardaí found in Mr Osmenaj's trousers pocket. Inside, Garda Loughlin found five vacuum-sealed bags containing a green plant-like material.

That same day, as part of Operation Thor, gardaí in Carlow executed a search warrant at an address at Shangrila, Grange Grove, Tullow Road. In the course of the search, they were made aware of the seizure in Nenagh and realised that the suspects detained in Nenagh were connected to the Carlow address.

A key in their possession for another Nissan, a Qashqai, was brought by a garda to Carlow and used to open a Nissan parked at the rear of the searched premises.

A secret compartment was also discovered in the boot of this vehicle. The gardaí used force to open it and inside they discovered another 10 packages of green plant-like material. They also retrieved documents linking the two defendants to the vehicle.

The green material seized at both locations was later confirmed as cannabis.

The Carlow packages had a total weight of 9,997.1g valued at €199,942.

The cannabis seized in Nenagh weighed 4,890.5g and was valued at €97,810. The white powder transpired to be 0.72g of cocaine with a valuation of €52.

The court heard that Mr Kroi brought 15kg of cannabis to Ireland from England, where he had been living for several years, in order to pay off a €30,000 drugs debt; £1,000 would be deducted if he transported the drugs.

He was assisted by Mr Osmenaj, who had previously worked on cargo ships and as a farm labourer, and became involved in the enterprise in order to raise money for his father’s cancer treatment. His father died shortly after Mr Osmenaj was taken into custody.

Both men had been in Ireland for only a few days before their arrest. Mr Kroi accepted responsibility for bringing in the drugs and dividing them up. He was “heavily addicted to cocaine” and had previously worked in England as a hackney driver and takeaway delivery driver, among other jobs.

While Mr Kroi spoke good English, his co-defendant could not speak the language at all, and this was of particular difficulty to him in prison, defence counsel Colman Cody told the court.

“He was considerably down the ladder in terms of hierarchy,” Mr Cody said of Mr Osmenaj’s involvement. Both men could be described as “mules” in the drugs trade.

Judge Catherine Staines accepted that both foreign nationals found life difficult in prison in Ireland.

Among mitigating factors, she noted their previous good record; Mr Kroi had two previous convictions for road traffic offences in Greece while Mr Osmenaj had no previous convictions.

Judge Staines sentenced Mr Kroi to six years in prison, suspending two-and-a-half years for a period of two years.

Mr Osmenaj was also sentenced to six years in prison but with three suspended in light of his lesser involvement.

Both sentences were backdated to August 6, 2022 when the defendants were taken into custody.

The judge also granted a destruction order of the drugs and forfeiture of the two vehicles to the State.