Over €230k worth of drugs found in former school caretaker’s wheelie bin and shed

A former school caretaker who was caught with over €230,000 of drugs in his wheelie bin and garden shed will be sentenced later this year, reports Isabel Hayes.

Over €230k worth of drugs found in former school caretaker’s wheelie bin and shed

A former school caretaker who was caught with over €230,000 of drugs in his wheelie bin and garden shed will be sentenced later this year, reports Isabel Hayes.

Colin Goode (49) initially told gardaí that he found the bags of cocaine, MDMA and zopiclone tablets in his back garden and put them in the bin and shed with the intention of dumping them.

He later admitted he was holding them for another person, but he couldn’t remember much about how he got involved because he was drunk.

Gardaí discovered over 103,000 zopiclone tablets with a street value of €207, 928 in Goode’s garden shed, along with cocaine worth €19,166 and MDMA powder worth €4216 in his wheelie bin.

Goode, a father-of-six with an address at Limekiln Green, Walkinstown, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of possessing cocaine and MDMA, one count of keeping zoplicone for sale without a prescription and one count of keeping zoplicone for sale without the wholesaler’s authorisation on July 24, 2015.

Judge Karen O’Connor adjourned the matter for sentencing on October 27.

Garda Cian Fleming told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that gardaí carrying out a search warrant of a nearby property on the day in question were alerted to the presence of drugs at Goode’s address.

When they discovered the drugs at Goode’s home, he said he had found the drugs a few days previously in his back garden. He said he threw the cocaine and MDMA in the bin and put the zoplicone tablets in the shed with the intention of dumping them on bin day.

He told gardaí he realised it was stupid but, “what’s done is done”.

Goode later made admissions that he agreed to hold the drugs for another person in exchange for an undisclosed amount of money. He said he was drunk when he agreed to take the drugs and couldn’t fully remember how he got involved.

The court heard Goode, an alcoholic, has eight previous convictions, mostly for public order offences when intoxicated.

Vincent Heneghan SC, defending, said his client had “suffered with his demons” when it came to alcohol abuse. He said his client spent some time in rehab, but struggled with the regime there.

The court heard Goode’s wife had supported him throughout, and tried to ensure he did not have access to money for alcohol. She was in court along with a number of his six children. One son has come home from New Zealand to support his father.

The court heard Goode worked as a school caretaker between 2006 and 2013 and loved his job, but was forced to leave due to his alcohol issues.

He has also worked on building sites and for Brennan’s Bread.

Mr Heneghan said his client was a hardworking man who was “cherished by children”. He said he had carried out good work in his community, including helping to set up a football club for young people.

He noted that zoplicone was not a controlled drug at the time of the offence.

Judge O’Connor noted it was “concerning” that Goode continued to drink alcohol despite it being at the “root of his offending”.

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