Kildare man was being taken advantage of by a drug dealer, detective tells court

A Newbridge resident 'was being taken advantage of' by a known drug dealer, according to a Garda Detective.

Gda Det Seamus Doyle made the comments before Judge Desmond Zaidan at Naas District Court on Thursday, December 7 last.

Appearing before Judge Zaidan was Richard Coogan, with an address listed as the Peter McVerry Trust in Eyre Street, Newbridge, but who is currently serving a custodial sentence on other matters.

Gda Det Doyle explained that on October 9, 2022, the 42-year-old was stopped by gardaí at the Applegreen service station located on the Moorefield Road in Newbridge.

Mr Coogan was found with a scriber hand tool on his person, in addition to €1,108 in cash, which according to Gda Det Doyle, was the proceeds of selling crack cocaine and heroin.

The court was told that he admitted to the offences.

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Gda Det Doyle also said that he was 'in the company of a known drug dealer, who is currently remanded in custody.'

"He (the drug dealer) is also before the courts for a suspected drugs haul," Gda Det Doyle added.

Furthermore, Gda Doyle told Judge Zaidan that Mr Coogan 'was being taken advantage of' by this person.

"So he was being used as a 'street bank?'" the judge asked.

"Yes, Judge," Gda Det Doyle replied.

The court was told that Mr Coogan has 29 previous convictions, but none for the type of offences he admitted to on the date in question.

It was also heard that Mr Coogan initially went into custody back in February, and is due for release next week.

When Judge Zaidan asked Gda Det Doyle if Mr Coogan assisted gardaí in their investigations following his arrest, Gda Det Doyle responded: "No. He broke the law, but again, he was being taken advantage of.

"He wants to forfeit the money."

Judge Zaidan directed the forfeited cash to go towards the Dara Project, which is a drug addiction and counselling service located in Athy.

He also decided to enact the Probation Act on Mr Coogan.