OVER €100,000 worth of jewellery and a Mercedes car were forfeited to the State following a failed application by 56-year-old Gerard McNamara to the District Court to have the items returned to him. The items, Judge Eamon O’Brien heard from Detective Garda Paul Crowley, Roxboro, were seized in follow-up investigations into the murder of Garryowen FC rugby player Shane Geoghegan, who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity in 2008.
Giving evidence of his application, the items and his claim to ownership, Mr McNamara, Hyde Road, Prospect, told the court that he had carried out refurbishments to the home of his late mother and removed the jewellery and placed it in the Mercedes car.
That car, he told the court, was bought a few weeks prior, and he subsequently lent it to a third party, and the jewellery was contained inside. He now sought to reclaim ownership.
However, the court heard that the car was later seized as part of a search in connection with activity surrounding the murder of Shane Geoghegan and that both the car and the jewellery were found, and now in garda possession.
During searches and seizures, Detective Garda Crowley said that a large cocaine haul at an address in Kilshane, Bansha, was the result of extensive garda work and that the jewellery in question, along with bank books and other documents, were also found.
Briefly outlining the contents of the jewellery, Det Garda Crowley said that diamond bracelets, watches, rings and earrings made up the collection that totalled almost €100,000.
He added that it was the belief of the man arrested in connection with the seizures that the jewellery belonged to other serious criminals, and that Mr McNamara was hiding it for them.
“It is garda belief that the jewellery was given to Mr McNamara by the Dundon family as CAB were in the area at the time and they were afraid of a raid”.
Det Crowley went on to say that the car was seized in a separate search, and that a quantity of drugs was also found in the car at the time.
Judge Eamon O’Brien heard that the applicant only made contact with the gardai seeking the return of the goods on September 5 last, and that this was his first expression of interest in the goods.
Inspector Seamus Ruane countered the claim of ownership by McNamara, saying that the jewellery invoices submitted in evidence did not correspond with the schedule of items seized.
Judge Eamon O’Brien said that the application was “unmeritorious” and dismissed the application based on the evidence in front of him, and ordered that the €100,000 worth of jewellery and the Mercedes car be forfeited to the State. Following the adjournment and the judge’s decision, McNamara lodged an appeal to the Circuit Court.
