A drug dealer from one of Limerick’s feuding gangs has been sentenced to ten years in prison.
48-year-old Sean Hanley, nicknamed 'cowboy' because he was also a cattle dealer, was caught by gardaí with 3kg of amphetamines in Mountrath, Co Laois, four years ago.
Hanley was seen throwing the drugs from a car which was blocked by the Garda National Drug Unit after a car chase, but was uncooperative when questioned.
He pleaded not guilty but was convicted of drug dealing by a jury at Portlaoise Circuit Court.
The driver of the car, John Costello, who pleaded guilty on the second day of the trial, was sentenced to 12 years, two years longer than Hanley even though he admitted his role in the crime.
Judge Anthony Kennedy said that Costello may feel aggrieved but that the sentence must be tailored to Hanley's circumstances.
The court heard Hanley was in poor health mentally and physically and was still grieving for his 20-year-old son Brian who was stabbed to death in 2001.
However, gardaí say Hanley was a significant drug dealer and was a key figure in the Ryan criminal gang, one of Limerick's feuding criminal gangs.
He also managed to buy a farm for €190,000 in 1994 at Meelick in Co Clare after other prospective buyers received bullets in the post. He sold the farm in 2004 for over €3m.
Hanley has not submitted a tax return since 1998 and is a target of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
