Jail for Lithuanian heroin gang member

Audrius Stanionis (46), had only been in the country for two weeks when he was arrested and taken into custody last September.

He told Garda at the time he lived at 21 Sylvan Avenue, Fairlands Park, Newcastle.

He appeared in custody before Galway District Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to obstructing Det Noel McNulty during the course of a drugs search.

Det McNulty gave evidence he and Garda Cathal Rodgers were on duty in the Headford Road area, investigating the activities of a Lithuanian gang involved in dealing heroin, when at 12.45p.m. on September 22 last they noticed Stanionis acting suspiciously by walking up and down the footpath for no apparent reason in the wooded area between Galway Retail Park and Quincentenary Bridge.

Det McNulty said they noticed a number of known heroin users were in the vicinity at the time.

He said the accused ran off when he approached and told him he was a Garda and he wanted to search him.

He saw Stanionis put several small bags of heroin in his mouth as he ran off.

Garda McNulty gave chase and arrested him.

With the aid of an interpreter, Stanionis denied he was a heroin dealer. He said he ran off because he saw a man running towards him and he didn’t know he was a Garda.

He denied he had put bags of heroin in his mouth before he ran off.

Imposing a 12-month sentence on Stanionis, Judge Mary Fahy said he was part of a gang and it was quite obvious drugs were being brought into the country.

“Their modus operandi is to deal in heroin. Unfortunately, I think we have a potential problem in this city already without people coming in with more,” she said.

The 12-month sentence was backdated to September 22, when the accused was first taken into custody.  Leave to appeal was also granted on the accused lodging half of €1,000 and an independent surety lodging half of another €1,000.