Suspended prison sentence for Craigavon man who is ‘no stranger to drug offences’

Dylan Francis Mulholland, 31, whose address was given as Carrigart Crescent, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court charged with two counts of possession of Class C drugs, namely alprazolam and pregabalin.

The court heard that on July 29, 2023 at 6pm police observed a male in the Lurgan area. When approached by the police, the defendant handed officers a strip of nine tablets, which were said to be alprazolam.

A search was conducted and the police located a strip of eight tablets, which were said to be pregabalin, in a bag in the possession of the defendant.

During interview the defendant made full admission to possession of the tablets and that he did not have a prescription for them.

Defence told the court the defendant had had a relapse when it came to drugs but that he was “doing his best to address it”.

Defence added: “It was very foolish of him but he did make full admission at the scene.”

During sentencing, District Judge Michael Ranaghan told the defendant: “You are no stranger to drug offences. This is your tenth and eleventh offence. There has been a significant gap.”

Mr Ranaghan imposed a custodial sentence of two months on each of the charges, which he suspended for a period of two years.

Mr Ranaghan also issued an order for the destruction of the drugs which were seized during the investigation.