Thursday 29 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 11802Drug offences (importation and possession of cannabis) · Co. Dublin · 6 Mar 2025

Chinese man jailed for three years over €571,000 cannabis package in Dublin

Lin Yan, 40, of Palmerstown, Dublin, was jailed for three years at the Circuit Criminal Court after 28.5kg of cannabis was found hidden under Chinese take-away supplies in a package delivered to him. The court heard that he accepted the package during a controlled delivery by gardaí.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced12 Dec
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
18 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatThe package delivered to Lin Yan was found to contain cannabis worth over half a million euros. (gript.ie)
  • whatLin Yan answered a call and said he would come and collect the package in 15 minutes. (gript.ie)
  • whatLin Yan opened the pallet and removed a box. (gript.ie)
  • whatThe drugs weighed 28.5 kg with a total value of €571,000. (gript.ie)
  • whereLin Yan is of Kennelsforth Road, Palmerstown, Dublin. (gript.ie)
  • whereThe cannabis was hidden under Chinese take-away supplies. (gript.ie)
  • whenThe events took place on the 6th of March. (gript.ie)
  • investigationGardaí received information from customs officers about a suspicious pallet destined for the accused's address. (gript.ie)
  • investigationThe National Drugs Unit arranged a controlled delivery of the package to the address at 11:20pm. (gript.ie)
  • chargeFurther counts of breaches of sections 3 and 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act were taken into consideration. (gript.ie)
  • courtLin Yan appeared before the Circuit Criminal Court on drugs charges. (gript.ie)
  • courtThe judge found special and exceptional circumstances allowing departure from the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. (gript.ie)
  • sentenceLin Yan was jailed for three years. (gript.ie)
  • sentenceThe court set a headline sentence of six years and imposed an actual sentence of three years, backdated to 7 March. (gript.ie)
  • otherLin Yan came before the courts on signed guilty pleas. (gript.ie)
  • otherLin Yan has been in custody since the 6th of March. (gript.ie)
  • otherThe defence said Lin Yan had no previous convictions and had been put under duress to take part in the offending. (gript.ie)
  • otherGarda evidence agreed that Lin Yan had no financial interest in the drugs and was not a person who has a drug problem. (gript.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 12 Dec2025
    Sentencedgript.ie, first report
    500K of drugs hidden in Chinese take-away supplies - Gript

    First report of this case. Covers the Circuit Criminal Court sentencing of Lin Yan, including the headline sentence, the sentence actually imposed and the mitigation argued by the defence.

    convicted, Lin Yan, 40, male, Chinese, named, non-irishLin Yan