Philip Lawless jailed for seven years over €3.18m cannabis and cocaine possession in Dublin
Philip Lawless, 48, of Leixlip, Co Kildare, was sentenced to seven years (8.5 years with 18 months suspended) at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possession of over €3.18 million worth of cannabis and cocaine for sale or supply at two locations in Dublin on 3 April 2024. He was described by the judge as 'middle management' in the drug operation, directing two other men via phone.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced18 Dec
Key facts
consolidated from all reports20 statements extracted from the articles
- whatPhilip Lawless, 48, of River Forest, Leixlip, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe drugs involved were worth over €3.18 million in cannabis and cocaine. (irishtimes.com)
- whatLawless left the carpark in a black BMW with one man, while a third man left in a white van. (irishtimes.com)
- whatTen vacuum pack bags of cannabis worth an estimated €198,332 were discovered in the van. (irishtimes.com)
- whatLawless arrived at the storage unit in a white transit van with a number of keys, one of which unlocked a unit. (irishtimes.com)
- whatA follow-up search of the unit found €2,281,176 worth of cannabis, €5,772 worth of cannabis resin, and €694,858 worth of cocaine. (irishtimes.com)
- whatPhone analysis showed Lawless was directing the activity of the other two men. (irishtimes.com)
- whatLawless used a particular app that deleted messages within eight hours of sending. (irishtimes.com)
- whatLawless was receiving instructions from someone else and screenshotting them to forward to one of the other men. (irishtimes.com)
- whatLawless was the leaseholder of the storage unit. (irishtimes.com)
- whereLawless was spotted in the company of two other men at Lidl in Tallaght, Dublin 24. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe man in the van drove to a self storage unit in Ballymount in Tallaght. (irishtimes.com)
- whereGardaí followed the vehicles to a meeting point on the Belgard Road in Tallaght. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe white van ultimately stopped on Beresford Street, Dublin 7. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe drugs were found at two separate locations in Dublin on 3 April 2024. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí had the movements of a number of individuals and vehicles under observation in April. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationLawless was arrested and interviewed but nothing of evidential value came out of the interviews. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe phones of all three men were later analysed. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe case was heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- otherLawless has minor convictions for speeding and a parking fine. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 18 Dec2024‘Middle manager’ in drug operation involving over €3m in cannabis and cocaine jailed for seven years
Sentencing details: Lawless described as 'middle management' directing two other men; phone analysis showed he used an app deleting messages within eight hours and was receiving instructions from an unknown person 'further up the chain'; he was leaseholder of the Ballymount storage unit; total drugs valued at over €3.18m; headline sentence of 12.5 years reduced to 8.5 years with 18 months suspended.
convicted, Philip Lawless, 48, male, named, irish (judged from name)Philip Lawlesssuspect, malesuspect, male