The court heard 14kg of cocaine, with a street value of almost €1 million, was found in a hidden compartment of Mulvey’s car
Kelsey Peyton (24) with an address at Macuilliam Green, Fortunestown, Tallaght, Dublin.(Image: Collins Photo Agency)
A “somewhat naïve” hairdresser, “dazzled” by a new relationship with an older man, was the passenger in a car stopped during a drugs surveillance operation, a court has heard.
Kelsey Peyton (24) had met Shane Mulvey (30) online and was only dating him for six to eight weeks when the offence occurred, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told.
The court heard 14kg of cocaine, with a street value of almost €1 million, was found in a hidden compartment of Mulvey’s car.
Peyton was not known to gardai at the time, and Detective Garda Val Russell said gardai are satisfied that if Peyton had not become involved with Mulvey, it is highly unlikely she would have come to their attention.
Peyton, with an address at Macuilliam Green, Fortunestown, Tallaght, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty to a charge of assisting an offender. She has no previous convictions.
Detective Garda Val Russell told Oisin Clarke BL, prosecuting, that gardai received a confidential tip-off that Mulvey was involved in drug-related activity.
Sign up to our new Crime Ireland newsletter and get exclusive content from Michael O’Toole and Paul Healy
The Irish Mirror’s Crime Writers Michael O’Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
A surveillance operation targeting Mulvey was put in place on November 27, 2024.
Around 8pm on November 27, 2024, Mulvey and Peyton left his apartment at Olcovar, Shankill and travelled in a Peugeot car to Swords Boxing Club.
The car arrived and parked in the car park. Mulvey left the car and walked to the passenger side, then swapped with Peyton who went to the driver’s seat.
A Citroen Berlingo van parked beside the car. Mulvey left the car, then placed what turned out to be 1kg of cocaine, valued at €72,000, through the passenger side window of the van.
He returned to the car, swapped with Peyton again so that he was in the driver’s seat.
Both vehicles left the car park and were later stopped by gardai.
Kelsey Peyton appeared in court on Friday. (Image: Collins Photo Agency)
Nothing was found during an initial search of the Peugeot car, but a hidden compartment was found under the passenger seat when a more extensive search was later carried out.
Mr Clarke said that there was a “complicated procedure” to access this compartment, where the 14kg of cocaine had been stored.
Mulvey was jailed for eight years last June after he was caught in possession of over €2.6 million in drugs – much of it stashed in his apartment’s spare room. The court heard during his sentence hearing that the 14kg of cocaine found in the car had a street value of about €1 million.
He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing drugs for sale or supply, one count of possessing the proceeds of crime and one count of possessing an article in connection with a crime.
The driver of the van, Jamie Malone (23) received a suspended three-year prison sentence last December for his role.
Malone, of Brides Glen Park, Swords, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to having drugs for sale or supply in Swords on November 27, 2024. The cocaine found in his van had an estimated value of €72,000, his sentence hearing was told.
Peyton told gardai during interview that she only met Mulvey about six to eight weeks earlier, when they started dating.
She told gardai that she “adapted to his [Mulvey’s] personality”, that he took her on holiday to Lanzarote and bought a dog.
She described being 22 and with an older man, who treated her well. She said she didn’t see it, but knew something was wrong and that she should have asked more questions.
She handed her phone to gardai, along with the PIN and there was nothing on this device to connect her to the wider operation or to indicate she was profiting from it.
Peyton has no trappings of wealth and was driving a 12-year-old car.
Det Gda Russell agreed with Philipp Rahn SC, defending, that his client was fully co-operative, has not come to other garda attention and entered an early guilty plea.
It was further accepted that this was a case of wilful ignorance.
A letter of apology, references and medical reports were handed to the court.
Mr Rahn said his client has worked as a hairdresser since leaving school at 16 and is studying to progress her career.
He said she accepts she finds herself in this situation due to her own actions and recklessness, and that she is remorseful and has learnt a lesson.
Counsel submitted this was a “massive wake-up call” for Peyton, who would not have found herself in this situation had she not met an older man “who was clearly someone who dazzled her with his treatment of her”.
He asked the court for as much leniency as possible and to consider a non-custodial sentence.
Yesterday, Judge Jonathan Dunphy said the court’s view was that Peyton was a “somewhat naïve and immature defendant” who acted recklessly in the throes of a new relationship.
He imposed a sentence of 12 months, suspended in full on strict conditions, including that Peyton make a €1,000 donation to Merchant’s Quay within six months to assist those suffering with addiction difficulties.
Judge Dunphy said the court had considered how Peyton presents now, “after learning a costly lesson in the company she keeps”, her age and work history.
He said the court’s view was that she is at low risk of re-offending.
Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here.