A convicted gun smuggler, described as “feral” in court, was sent to jail for five years this week (May 18 ) for his part in running a cocaine packing factory in a residential estate in Athlone.
Sean Callinan (24 ), with an address in Pearse Park, Tullamore, Co Offaly took out a lease under a false name for 135, Meadowbrook, Willow Park, Athlone in March 2007 but never bothered to pay rent, Judge Michael White heard in the Circuit Court in Athlone on Tuesday.
After checking his property and believing it to have been burgled, the landlord contacted Gardai on May 4, 2007. When gardai Michael Ryan and George Garvey went to the address and searched it, they discovered “a large number of liquidizers, industrial presses used for compacting cocaine, mixing agents”, along with a quarter of a kilo of cocaine with a street value of €17,000 and “25 positive fingerprint matches for the defendant” on the premises.
Garda Ryan couldn’t contact the tenant at first, but the reason why was only revealed after his 22 previous convictions were read to the court.
It transpired Callinan had been arrested in Cork on April 20, 2007 and charged with conspiracy to possess two rocket launchers, five AK 47s, five assault rifles, two Uzi sub-machine guns, three Smith and Wesson revolvers, two Browning pistols, five Sig Sauer pistols and 270 rounds of ammunition, after setting up the deal in the UK with undercover police. For this he was sentenced to six years in prison, with the final three suspended, on October 21, 2008.
In his defence, barrister Colm Smith, suggested Callinan had no male role model in his life after his father “descended into an alcoholic haze” on the death of his wife when the defendant was 10 years old.
“The picture that emerges is of a classic ruined childhood,” said Mr Smyth.
“Mr Callinan was effectively feral for a number of years. He had very little schooling after first year. He fell between the cracks and was not picked up by those responsible for enforcing school attendance.”
Mr Smyth drew the judge’s attention to a number of psychological reports before him that suggested his client was of “low to average intellectual ability” and was thus “an ideal candidate to be used by more devious people than himself”.
Mr Smyth said the reason Callinan allowed himself to get involved in the drug factory was to work off a debt of his brother’s.
“He doesn’t have the ability for organisational or managerial positions,” he said.
Pointing out to the court that Callinan had originally sought trial by jury in Tullamore and only pleaded guilty on March 25 this year, Judge White declared the court had “a straightforward duty” and sent him down for five years, backdating it to the date of his guilty plea.
