Tralee man Nathan McDonnell has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for drug and organised crime offences.
44-year-old McDonnell of Ballyroe, Tralee, was arrested 12 months ago after the largest ever seizure of crystal meth in the history of the state, valued at over €32 million.
He pleaded guilty to two charges in October arising fromthis seizure; that he imported the drugs into Ireland, and facilitated the activities of a criminal organisation.
At the non-jury Special Criminal Court this morning, he was handed headline sentences of 21 years for importing the drugs, and 12 years for facilitating a criminal organisation.
Taking mitigating factors into account, these were reduced to 12 and 6 years respectively, with both sentences served concurrently.
Both sentences will be backdated to the date of his arrest on February 16th, last year.
We'll have more on this story in our 1pm bulletin.
