A FORMER ‘Just Eat’ delivery driver for the Limerick area has denied offering to sell cannabis to his customers while delivering Big Macs and pizzas to their homes.
At Ennis District Court, Judge Mary Larkin imposed a two month prison term on married father-of-one, Renan Ricardo Da Costa (39) for possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply on February 23 last year.
Judge Larkin also imposed a €300 fine on Mr Da Costa for the possession of the cannabis on the same date at Glendermot House, Monaskeha, Clonlara.
Sgt Aiden Lonergan said that Gardaí recovered 25 ‘deal bags’ of cannabis that were found in a ‘Just Eat’ bag used for food delivery in Mr Da Costa’s car.
Mr Da Costa, with addresses at Glendermot House, Clonlara and Bru Na Gruadan in Castletroy told the court that he worked for ‘Just Eat’ for five months and delivered food for the likes of McDonalds and Burger King in the Limerick area.
He agreed with Sgt Lonergan that his work allowed him to travel door-to-door delivering fast food. However when Sgt Lonergan asked: “when you were delivering food for Just Eat did anyone ever ask you for cannabis?”, Mr Da Costa answered ‘no’.
He also replied ‘no’ when Sgt Lonergan asked “did you ever offer anyone cannabis for sale when delivering a Big Mac or a pizza?”
Sgt Lonergan said that forensic tests found that 124.5 grams of cannabis was recovered from Mr Da Costa’s bag with a street value of €2,490. An additional €2,600 in cash was also found in his possession.
Sgt Lonergan said the amount of cannabis stored in the bag, along with the large amount of cash, indicated that the purpose of the drugs was for sale and supply.
Mr Da Costa said: “I don’t sell drugs. I am a normal person. I just work.”
Stating that he was a cannabis user and smoked it twice a day, he added: “I didn’t sell drugs, I am not involved in selling. I just use it.”
In relation to the cash found, Mr Da Costa – who has eight previous convictions – said that he saves at home.
He thought he purchased 90 grams of cannabis for €700 and said that would do him for a month and a half.
His solicitor Tara Godfrey said that her instructions were that the drugs were for Mr Da Costa’s personal use and the car was used as a ‘smoking booth’. His mother-in-law was staying with them at the time and he didn’t wish to smoke cannabis while she was there.
She asked Judge Larkin to view Mr Da Costa as an addict rather than someone higher up the scale and not to impose a custodial sentence.
