Tralee man Nathan McDonnell has been jailed for 12 years for his role in a failed operation to smuggle half a tonne of crystal meth from Mexico to Australia.
44-year-old McDonnell of Ballyroe, Tralee, pleaded guilty in October to two charges relating to the seizure of the drugs at Cork Port 12 months ago.
The 540 kilograms of meth, valued at over €32.4 million, was stored at Ballyseedy Garden Centre between October 2023 and February 2024.
McDonnell appeared at the non-jury Special Criminal Court this moring before the Honourable Ms Justice Melanie Greally, Circuit Court judge Sarah Berkeley, and Judge Gráinne Malone.
On Friday 16th February last year, Nathan McDonnell was arrested at Ballyseedy Garden Centre, which he co-owned and operated, after the drugs seizure at Cork Port; the largest ever seizure of crystal meth in the history of the state.
Today, Friday 28th February 2025, he has been handed a 12-year sentence for his role in the attempted trafficking of the drugs, which arrived in Ireland from Mexico and were destined for Australia prior to their interception.
McDonnell appeared in person at the court wearing a disposable face mask, having suffered a broken jaw in Portlaoise prison last weekend.
He pleaded guilty to two charges connected to the drugs seizure; that he imported the drugs into Ireland in October 2023, and facilitated the activities of a local organised crime group, with links to the infamous Sinaloa cartel.
McDonnell paid the shipping charge to bring the drugs, contained inside a phoney machine, into Ireland, then he stored the machine at Ballyseedy garden centre, and arranged for its attempted export to Australia.
Ms Justice Greally said that his importing of the drugs helped a criminal organisation, and that his assistance of the criminal gang involved the importing of such a quantity of drugs were aggravating to each other.
She said he carried out several tasks for this operation, which involved a high level of trust and responsibility, and to call him a cog in the wheel undermines his role.
She said he was committed to and invested in the drugs venture, but acknowledged he was acting solely on the direction of and in fear of a named individual.
Ms Justice Greally said he had ample information relating to the machine containing the drugs, and if he didn’t know of its contents, he should have been able to join the dots to know there were drugs involved.
She set a headline sentence of 21 years for the drug importation, and 12 years for facilitating a criminal gang.
Taking account of mitigating factors, including his early guilty plea, his co-operation, previous good character, and the shame and embarrassment already suffered by his family, these were reduced to 12 and six years respectively, with both to be served concurrently.
Ms Justice Greally told the court the most punitive aspect, was that he will be absent from his sons for the majority of their childhood years, and she acknowledged his experience of prison will be very challenging.
Meanwhile, Nathan McDonnell’s solicitor says an appeal will be considered to his prison sentence, but it’s highly unlikely.
Pádraig O’Connell was reacting after Mr McDonnell was jailed for 12 years at the Special Criminal Court this morning; which he described as a very serious sentence.
Mr O’Connell says they have asked the prison authorities for a plan to be put in place for the safety of his client going forward.
