Man pleads guilty to €1.6m cannabis possession in Cork

A 30‑year‑old man pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis worth €1.6 million after a large seizure at a storage unit on Little Island, Co Cork.

The court heard that 80 kg of cannabis were found on 6 July at U Store It, Unit 24, Euro Business Park, Little Island. The accused, Xiaochen Han, who lives at Griffith’s Close, Birmingham, was in custody at the Cork Circuit Criminal Court on Anglesea Street and his mother attended the hearing.

Defence senior counsel Jane Hyland, noting that Han is from China and was residing in the UK, asked for a probation and prison governor’s report to inform sentencing. Judge Helen Boyle granted the request and also ordered a Mandarin interpreter for further legal consultations.

Han pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis, possession for the purpose of sale or supply, and possession of a value exceeding €13,000 – the threshold for a 10‑year minimum sentence unless exceptional circumstances apply. He was remanded in custody and sentencing was adjourned to 24 February 2027.

Detective Garda Derry O’Brien testified that the case involved a joint investigation by the Cork City Divisional Drugs Unit, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Revenue and Customs, and that a controlled delivery was used to seize the shipment. Gardaí consider Han a flight risk, noting his travel from the UK to Belfast and Cork by train to avoid immigration checks, as he does not hold a visa for the Republic.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Kindel Media / Pexels.