Tallaght men Ross Kelly (26) and 53-year-old Terence O’Reilly appeared before Judge Peter White at Dublin District Court
Ross Kelly, 26, of Marlfield Terrace, and 53-year-old Terence O’Reilly, with an address at Knockmore Grove, both in Tallaght, were charged with possessing drugs for sale or supply over a seizure of 25 kilogrammes of cannabis at Whitestown Way.
Mr Kelly, a father of two, had additional charges over the seizure of a further 32 kilograms of cannabis at his home address. It follows an interception and search operation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
They appeared before Judge Peter White at Dublin District Court.
He held that it was not necessary to refuse bail and strict conditions could be imposed on the pair, who await directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Bail was set in their bonds of €500, and each man requires approval of independent sureties, set at €10,000 for Mr Kelly and €6000 for his co-accused.
Photograph: Garda Press Office
Detective Garda Gavin Curran and Conor Tuite alleged there were three boxes containing cannabis valued €500,000 in a vehicle driven by the father of three; more boxes with €640,000 worth of the drug were found in Mr Kelly’s bedroom.
They were granted legal aid and held with consent to bail to appear at Cloverhill District Court.
The pair remained silent during the proceedings and have yet to plead to the charges, which are likely to be sent to the Circuit Court, which has greater sentencing powers.
A contested bail hearing was told that Mr Kelly was involved in the large-scale storage and distribution of cannabis.
Detective Garda Curran maintained that Mr Kelly, who was visibly upset in court, was a “trusted member” of a criminal enterprise, but he accepted that he was not a high-end figure.
Detective Garda Tuite alleged that former taxi driver Mr O’Reilly was a “key logistics man”. He added that Mr O’Reilly refused to give gardai the code to unlock his phone, which was a tactic used by sophisticated criminal organisations to disrupt police investigations.
Defence counsel Kevin McCrave stressed the two men had lived for decades in the same area and had children.
He stressed they had the presumption of innocence, had no other charges pending, and could face a lengthy period in custody pending their trial if their applications were denied.
The judge heard Mr Kelly was involved in boxing and helped young people, and nothing was found in he home of the co-accused when it was searched.
Legal aid was granted. On taking up bail, the pair must surrender their passports, refrain from communicating with each other, remain contactable by phone, and sign in daily at their local Garda station.
Ross Kelly
News in 90 Seconds, Monday September 1