Man had 22 bags of cocaine in his boxer shorts, Omagh court told

A Newtownstewart man has been refused bail after allegedly being caught with 22 bags of cocaine concealed in his underwear – just three weeks after being placed on probation for drugs offences.

Appearing before Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Cahill Maguire (29), who now has an address in Castletown Square, Fintona, was charged with making a threat to damage property, possession of cocaine, suspected cannabis and pregabalin and being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

The court was told that, on August 17, police were contacted by an alleged victim who said that Maguire had threatened, over a recorded phone call, to ‘burn down’ their property with a ‘jerry can’.

Maguire was later located and arrested, with officers allegedly finding a small quantity of cannabis in his possession.

However, in custody, a further search of Maguire found 22 small ‘deal bags’ allegedly containing cocaine within the defendant’s boxer shorts.

Also found was a small amount of the Class C controlled drug, pregabalin, and £240 in cash.

During interview, Maguire admitted possessing the Class A, B and C drugs, claiming that he had seen a ‘known dealer’ drop the black bag in public before the defendant lifted it.

Defence solicitor Michael Fahy told the court that his client did not have legal representation during police interview but denied threatening to damage the complainant’s property.

However, District Judge Ted Magill observed that the main issue was the alleged drugs offences, noting that Maguire had been handed a 12-month probation order in July for similar offences.

Mr Fahy conceded that drug addiction was ‘clearly’ an issue, adding that Maguire did not have a ‘huge amount’ of cocaine when he was arrested, noting ‘seven to eight’ grams of the powder within the bags.

He added that Maguire was entitled to a ‘presumption of innocence’ at this stage.

Judge Magill told the court that he was concerned about Maguire’s criminal history of 21 convictions and that these new alleged offences occurred just weeks after he was given a probation order for similar offences.

Bail was refused and Maguire will appear again at Strabane Magistrates Court on September 11.