THE storage of over 90,000 cigarettes for a “sinister group” led to a suspended sentence at Limerick Circuit Court. Christopher Mulqueen, an officer with Customs and Revenue, told Limerick Circuit Court that he was a member of a search team that found over 90,000 cigarettes at the home of 64-year-old George Molloy, at Naomh Ide, Crossagalla, Old Cork Road. The court heard in evidence that a warrant was sought by Customs officials to search the home of the accused, after receiving confidential information that Molloy was storing the illegally imported cigarettes.
On March 29, 2011, officers found 2,800 cigarettes hidden in an upstairs bedroom and a search of an outside shed yielded a further eight boxes of L&M and President cigarettes containing 80,000 unstamped cigarettes.
Some were also found in the car of the self employed taxi driver, and the court heard that the independent packs of 20 did not have the government approved tax stamp and the loss to the State exceeded €30,000.
The customs officer told the court that under questioning, the accused said that it was not his intention to sell the cigarettes, more that he was “put in an impossible position”.
The court heard that Molloy said to the officers that “a bloke asked me to hold them, but I can’t say who it is”.
Defence counsel said that the accused “was holding the cigarettes for some more sinister elements and was put in an impossible position”.
Molloy said that two men came at 7am about five weeks before the raid and brought 30 boxes and stored them in the shed.
Later that same day, he said, the two returned and took 20 of the boxes.
A native of the UK, but with Irish origins, the accused had previous convictions in the 60s, 70s and 80s, but Judge Carroll Moran said that “a man’s past has to be put to bed at some point,” adding he would not take those minor convictions into account.
However, he did note that Molloy had a previous conviction as a shop owner who had in his possession illegally imported tobacco, which he was fined for in 2000.
Defence counsel said that at all times the accuse was co-operative with the authorities and that he had entered an early plea.
Living in Ireland since 1997, the court heard that Mr Molloy was not at the “top end of the scale,” and that he was just the holder of the cigarettes who had no intention of selling them. He shouldn’t have allowed himself become involved”.
Counsel said that since the customs raid, Molloy’s house had been attacked.
Judge Carroll Moran said that in recent times the courts had imposed sentences for similar matters and that “three year sentence was handed down for VAT offences”.
He commented that aggravating factors in the matter were that Molloy was in possession of a “sizeable amount of cigarettes,” and that he had a previous conviction for the possession of illegally imported tobacco.
Judge Carroll Moran convicted and sentenced Molloy to three years in prison but suspended it for a period of three years and bound him to the peace on his own bond of €200.
The contraband was forfeited to the State.
