A man named Ryon Fitzpatrick (34) has been imprisoned for six and a half years for his role in smuggling cannabis worth €6 million, concealed in counterfeit shoeboxes. Fitzpatrick was detained in 2020, along with two associates, just before they entered a disused field in the northern part of Dublin county.
The narcotics were hidden in a vehicle full of shoeboxes. Fitzpatrick was behind the wheel of a second vehicle, acting as a scout for the drug carrying van, as reported by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Although initially arrested and interrogated, Fitzpatrick was not formally charged, and he relocated to Spain shortly after.
However, Garda Val Russell caught up with him when his vehicle was stopped in Spain a year later. He was extradited to Ireland last December and has been held in custody since then. Fitzpatrick, who resides on Cookstown Road in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, admitted to possession of the cannabis for sale or supply at Stockhole Lane, Cloghran, Swords in Co Dublin on October 23rd, 2020.
He has a rap sheet of 13, mainly for driving offences. The consignment of drugs had originated from Bilbao, Spain and was discovered by custom officials upon arrival in Ireland. As a result, gardaí organised a monitored delivery to a legitimate Dublin logistics centre, which was subsequently surveilled.
The court was informed that Fitzpatrick’s accomplices, Anthony Kinghorn and Mark Nesbitt, travelled to Ireland from the UK and were observed by gardaí departing the logistics centre in a van. Fitzpatrick accompanied in a car. The trio was stopped by Gardaí just before they could reach a derelict field in Swords. Inside the van, 304 kilograms of cannabis, worth approximately €6,080,000, was discovered packed in shoeboxes.
Fitzpatrick’s car was found to contain a small amount of cocaine, as well as three mobile phones, one of which was encrypted with an app commonly used by criminal gangs. He also had in possession a forged document showing he was a pet shop employee and an essential worker, which had seemingly enabled his travels during Covid-19 induced lockdowns.
Authorities reckon he held a position somewhere in the middle of the unlawful outfit. Having admitted his guilt, Kinghorn, now 51, from Hatfield in Hertfordshire, England, was incarcerated for eight years in 2021. Nesbitt, another member, at present 53, residing in Whitefield House, Cecil Crescent, Hatfield in Hertfordshire was proven guilty by a jury post his 2022 trial and was similarly sentenced for eight years.
Acting in his defence, John Fitzgerald asserted that Fitzpatrick decamped to Spain as he was under menace. In Spain, he started afresh, found employment and began a new relationship.
Fitzgerald elaborated on Fitzpatrick’s upbringing which was amidst considerable affluence, but his domestic environment was marred by alcohol abuse and violence. Substance misuse began during his teenage years and led to a detrimental lifestyle. In order to repay his drug debt, he was drawn into this crime, the attorney explained. According to courtroom reports, he has now halted his drug consumption and is making earnest attempts to improve his life while in prison.
Judging Fitzpatrick, Judge Pauline Codd confirmed the grave nature of the crime, implicating a substantial quantity of drugs and its consequential harm. She initially weighed an 11½ years sentence, but factoring in mitigating circumstances, she reduced it to nine years. She further suspended the final 2½ years of this sentence on the provision of certain prerequisites.