{"id":461160,"date":"2026-05-22T03:53:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T03:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/461160\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T03:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T03:53:11","slug":"logistics-boss-jailed-after-e1-2m-cash-haul-intercepted-on-m7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/461160\/","title":{"rendered":"Logistics boss jailed after \u20ac1.2m cash haul intercepted on M7"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Co Laois logistics business owner has been jailed for three years after garda\u00ed intercepted a van transporting \u20ac1.2m in crime proceeds.<\/p>\n

Eugene Doyle (52), of Ardan Glas, Mountrath Road, Portlaoise, was convicted last month by a jury of money laundering following a trial at Portlaoise Circuit Court.<\/p>\n

Sentencing was adjourned until Thursday when Judge Keenan Johnson, presiding in Mullingar, imposed a five-year sentence, suspending the final two on condition Doyle does not reoffend for five years post-release.<\/p>\n

Judge Johnson said the offence ranked at the upper end of the scale.<\/p>\n

The court heard that while Doyle would not explain his involvement, it was clear that “he got in over his head”.<\/p>\n

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, investigating the activities of an organised crime group, stopped a Nissan Primastar van travelling south on the M7 at Ballybrittas on January 8, 2021.<\/p>\n

Searching the vehicle uncovered the massive cash haul, vacuum-packed inside black refuse bags, and the driver was arrested.<\/p>\n

Recalling the evidence, Judge Johnson said the van belonged to Doyle’s firm, Glenbrook Logistics.<\/p>\n

Its driver, a previously homeless man employed by Doyle, had previously been imprisoned for three years for his role.<\/p>\n

The sentencing hearing was told that the driver was instructed to go to a petrol station in Naas, where he parked in an area not covered by CCTV.<\/p>\n

The driver got out, went to get a coffee, then set off on a three-kilometre walk. At the same time, a second van pulled up to transfer bags into the defendant’s vehicle.<\/p>\n

The driver returned and then drove away.<\/p>\n

Text messages from Doyle showed the driver “acted on his instructions”.<\/p>\n

The judge said it involved a high degree of planning and coordination. This type of offence allows serious crime gangs to “wash” money through the banking system.<\/p>\n

He emphasised its destructive impact on society due to drug trafficking links to money laundering.<\/p>\n

Formulating the appropriate sentence, he identified the high value and the defendant’s extensive use of his logistics firm as the most aggravating factors.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Ireland<\/p>\n

Former civil servant jailed for distributing child sex abuse material<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The offence under section 7 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 carries a possible 14-year sentence.<\/p>\n

However, the judge considered how Doyle had no relevant prior convictions and suffered from health problems, particularly mobility issues, which would affect him in custody.<\/p>\n

Judge Johnson said that no drugs were found at Doyle’s home or business and he accepted the jury’s verdict. The court then noted the testimonials furnished to the judge.<\/p>\n

The judge also said the accused, a father and grandfather, had no trappings of wealth, lived in a rented home and used leased business premises. After the seizure, he went back to working as a driver, and the judge took into account the impact of Doyle’s incarceration on his family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Co Laois logistics business owner has been jailed for three years after garda\u00ed intercepted a van transporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-461160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}