Man in Ireland for 10 months sentenced to six years in jail

A LITHUANIAN man who had been living in Ireland for 10 months before he was caught with almost €130,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine has been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison here.

Sentencing Aleksej Sergejev, Judge John Aylmer said he would leave the question of his deportation to the Minister of Justice.

Sergejev, whose address was given as 40 Clare’s Court, Cavan, had previously been sentenced to eight years in prison for similar drugs offences and seven years and eight months in prison for the possession of a handgun in UK courts before moving to Ireland.

The 49-year-old was charged with a total of nine offences including possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis at his home address on February 3, 2026, possession of both drugs for the purpose of sale or supply at his home on the same date and possession of cocaine and cannabis at Cavan Garda Station and again at Cathedral Road in Cavan also on February 3. A ninth charge was for money laundering in relation to the drugs found.

Sergejev was remanded in custody in Castlerea Prison after he made admissions to gardaí following his arrest in February. He was produced at Carrick-On-Shannon circuit court on July 7 for sentencing.

Outlining the case for Judge John Aylmer, prosecuting barrister for the State, Ms Monica Lawlor BL, said the accused had earlier pleaded guilty to two of the nine counts including the possession of a total of €128,769 worth of cannabis and cocaine and the money laundering charge.

The barrister called Garda Maguire to give evidence on behalf of the investigating garda, his colleague at Cavan Garda Station, Gda Shane Kenny.

Reading from Gda Kenny’s statement, Gda Maguire said his colleague was on patrol on the Cathedral Road in Cavan on February 3 when he stopped a Toyota Corolla car.

“The driver of the car had been acting suspiciously and the car was being driven erratically,” the guard said. “Garda Maguire spoke to Mr Sergejev who was very nervous and evasive.” When he searched Sergejev’s car Gda Maguire found one wrap of suspected cannabis herb and two wraps of suspected cocaine.

When the car was conveyed to Cavan Garda Station another officer found approximately €2,500 worth of cannabis in the boot of the car. Officers obtained a search warrant for Segejev’s home and executed it the same day.

“Gda Kenny states suspected drugs were found in an ASDA bag, Dunnes, Brown Thomas, Morrisons, and Lidl bags as well as a Lacoste box,” Gda Maguire read from his colleague’s statement.

Officers also found electronic weighing scales and several deal bags and small brown envelopes in a bedroom. A shoebox also contained what appeared to be cocaine. There was also two kilos of suspected cannabis in the hot press and €10,000 cash under an ornament on a bedroom window sill.

Analysis by Forensic Science Ireland confirmed that the substances found were 350 grams of cocaine and 5,215 grams of cannabis.

With the street value of cannabis at €20 p/gm and €70 p/gm for cocaine, the total value of drugs found in the defendant’s car and apartment came to €128,769.

Aleksej Sergejev made admissions during his garda interview saying: “Everything in that room is mine” and guessed he had about three kilos of cannabis in his house. He also said a woman who was in the house at the time of the raid “had nothing to do with it”.

“No prosecution has been brought against the lady,” Gda Maguire confirmed.

Defence barrister Garnet Orange BL, said his Lithuanian client is a carpenter and bridge engineer who has been “effectively moving across Europe since the EU opened”.

Mr Orange asked Gda Maguire if the search of his client’s home displayed “any trappings of wealth” and the officer conceded there was none.

“In view of his previous convictions there’s not a lot I can say except that he’s sorry for what he’s done,” Mr Orange said. “Money difficulties are behind what he does.”

The barrister said his client had little to no English and no family members in the State so will have no one to visit him in prison. He also pointed to how Sergejev gave substantial co-operation to gardaí and takes responsibility for what was found in his apartment.

“He’s not a man living a particular lifestyle,” Mr Orange said. “He’s relying on drug dealing for money.”

In relation to his previous convictions, defence solicitor, Niall Fox, said in the UK convicted criminals usually serve half of the sentences handed down.

Judge John Aylmer said the offence of dealing drugs comes with a minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment unless the court believes there are exceptional circumstances or such a lengthy sentence would be manifestly unjust.

“By reason of substantial co-operation and early entry of a guilty plea the court determines it would be manifestly unjust to impose the minimum sentence in this case,” the judge told Sergejev.

He also said he considered the money-laundering charge to be on the mid-range of offending which carries a headline prison sentence of 10 years in prison.

“You’re a man of almost 50 years with no English, no family connections in this jurisdiction which will make a lengthy prison sentence all the more difficult for you,” Judge Aylmer said.

“You’ve stated yourself remorseful and observing your demeanour here today that seems to be the case,” he added before reducing the sentence for the possession of drugs for unlawful sale or supply to one of six years and eight months imprisonment. The money-laundering sentence was reduced to four years and the judge ordered it to run concurrently to the first sentence. He back-dated the terms until the date Sergejev first went into custody in February.

Judge Aylmer also suspended the final 12 months of the total six years and eight-month sentence on the condition that Aleksej Sergejev enter a bond of €100 to keep the peace for 12 months subsequent to his release from prison.

“The question of leaving the jurisdiction I will leave to the Minister of Justice,” the judge said before making forfeiture and destruction orders for the cash and large quantity of drugs.

The prosecution also asked the judge to mark seven other charges against the Lithuanian defendant as nolle prosequi.

* This article was published with support from the Court Reporting Scheme.