Sep 21 - Man Jailed For Storing Nearly 70g Of Cocaine
A local man who stored nearly 70g of cocaine in his home in exchange for money was sentenced to one year and two months in prison at the Supreme Court today.
Christian Joyce, of Glacis Estate, pleaded guilty to the possession and possession with intent to supply the class ‘A’ drugs, possession of a small amount of cannabis resin and the possession of a small amount of herbal cannabis.
Prosecutor Robert Fischel QC said a search warrant was carried out in Joyce’s home in January earlier this year, and the drugs and nearly £2,000 in cash were found in two duffel bags stored under his bed.
After being asked if there were any further drugs, Joyce, who was 24 at the time, told the drug squad officers there were some further wraps stored in a drawer.
A total of 98 wraps were found in the defendant’s home, and some had a purity of 80-88% while others had a purity of 45-60% and cut with benzocaine and paracetamol. The total amount of drugs seized had a street value of £6,000.
When asked what was contained in the wraps, Joyce, who was unemployed at the time, told the police they contained cocaine, adding that he was storing it in his house in exchange for money and he did it “just to live”.
Joyce was remanded in custody following a guilty plea, and his lawyer Nicholas Gomez told the court his client played a lesser role with a limited function in the drugs chain.
Mr Gomez said his client had shown remorse and was doing this to pay for a lawyer in the UK so that he could see his daughter.
While sentencing, Puisne Judge Karen Ramagge Prescott said that although Joyce was motivated by financial advantage, he played a lesser role and accepted Mr Gomez’s statement that his client did this out of naivety and a lack of maturity.
Mrs Justice Prescott sentenced Joyce to one year and nine months in prison, but this was reduced to one year and two months for entering an early guilty plea.
There were no separate penalties for the other charges and time served will be taken into consideration.
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