GALWAY COTTAGE WAS CENTRE OF IEP1M DRUGS OPERATION

Cannabis with a street value of over IEP1 million was sold to Galway
drug dealers from a remote county council cottage, it was revealed
yesterday. The drug-dealing operation was ended when gardai raided the
cottage following a two-month surveillance operation by the drugs unit.

A court in Gort, Co Galway, was told that well-known dealers from
Galway city had been observed calling to the house.

English-born William Frederick Scrivens (42), a self-confessed drug
user, admitted possession of cannabis for supply to others following
the Garda raid last February on his home at Lissbrien, Derrybrien, Co
Galway.

A Garda witness told Judge Al O'Dea that they estimated the accused
had sold cannabis with a street value of over IEP1 million during an
18-month period.

Scrivens in a statement to gardai admitted that "on a good week" he
could sell five kilos of cannabis worth up to IEP2,800 a kilo.

The accused, who admitted he was a drug user for 28 years, said he had
a regular supplier who supplied him with between five and 10 kilos of
cannabis at a time. He would make between IEP200 and IEP300 profit per
kilo. The drug was sold to dealers from Galway city as well as to
"rural dealers" supplying Co Galway.

He told how he kept the drug in "a stash" in the forest and sometimes
buried it underground. His regular supplier, who he would prefer not
to name, would call to his house between 8 and 10 a.m. In a period
covering a year and a half, he had sold about 100 kilos of hash on to
the Galway city and county markets. He also supplied tabs of acid and
LSD. The court was told that Scrivens developed a serious heroin
problem while living in London's inner city. He moved to Ireland 10
years ago, where he has since lived with his wife and six children.

His solicitor, Mr Sean Acton, told the court yesterday that Scrivens
lost everything he owned two and a half years ago in a fire which
destroyed his home and workshop. He was now studying Chinese medicine.
This was his first conviction.

Mr Acton said his client had in fact gone out of business when the
gardai called to his home, where there was no sign of a life of great
wealth.

Judge O'Dea said that the accused was "a fairly substantial dealer"
who had on his own admission been making up to IEP1,000 a week.

He adjourned sentence to January 25th for consideration of a probation
report.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry