Elderly man jailed for driving with €420k of cocaine hidden in shopping bag in car boot

A man who was driving a car which contained €420,000 worth of cocaine has been jailed for two years.

Eamon Larkin (69) of Jenkinstown, Kilcock, Co Meath pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on June 12, 2023 at the N2, The Ward, Dublin 11.

An investigating garda told prosecuting counsel that gardaí had information that a Skoda with a D10 registration would be involved in the movement of a large quantity of drugs in the Ashbourne area.

Larkin was driving this car, which gardaí later stopped and searched. A total of six kilos of cocaine was found in a shopping bag in the boot of the car, valued at €420,000.

Larkin was arrested and during interview, said he was approached by a stranger in a pub and offered €200 for his role.

He told gardaí he was aware he was transporting drugs, but didn't know which type.

Gardai checked CCTV from the pub, but there was no sighting of Larkin. Other CCTV footage showed Larkin swapping vehicles with a man described in court as a close male relative at a petrol station one hour before the Skoda was stopped.

The court heard the Skoda was being driven by Larkin's male relative before the petrol station.

Larkin has six previous convictions for road traffic offences.

The garda agreed with Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, that Larkin has not been on the garda radar before this and has not come to recent attention.

Mr O'Higgins told the court his client has been living a “modest home” in Portugal and intends to return there.

Judge Martin Nolan said the court accepted Larkin was transporting the drugs and had no interest in them.

He noted that a custodial sentence will be more difficult for Larkin due to his poor health, adding that he would have imposed a term of between four and five years on a “healthy man”.

“I think he has to undergo a period in custody for his wrongdoing,” Judge Nolan said, handing Larkin a two year sentence.