Dungannon man fined £1,000 for possessing cocaine

A DUNGANNON man has been fined £1,000 after police seized one gramme of cocaine during a routine traffic stop.

Appearing before Dungannon Magistrates Court (sitting in Omagh), Darryl Mullan (27) from Kindrum, Dungannon pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of a Class A controlled drug.

The court heard that, on November 16 last year, police stopped a vehicle in the Dungannon area.

Having carried out a search, they found the drugs in Mullan’s possession.

A defence solicitor told the court that Mullan had been using drugs since the death of his grandmother and that he had also previously dealt with alcohol issues.

marathon training

They further stated that Mullan was currently training for a marathon and had recently gained new employment.

District Judge Peter Magill told Mullan that cocaine is ‘seriously bad news’ and that it ‘puts money in the pockets of criminals’, however, he would take his early guilty plea into consideration.

Mullan was fined £1,000, with Judge Magill commenting that it was ‘ten times’ what he paid for the drugs.

A destruction order for the cocaine was also put in place.