A Croatian man caught with cocaine and cannabis worth €21,000 and €35,000 in cash in his Cork home has had his one-year jail term increased after a successful appeal by the State.
Miren Rakovac (33) of St Kevin's Square, off Barrack Street, Greenmount, Cork, pleaded guilty to possessing the haul of drugs at Cork Circuit Court in November 2021. In February of this year, Judge Dara Hayes sentenced Rakovac to two years and six months but suspended the final 18 months, which the State appealed as being an unduly lenient sentence.
Judge Hayes took into account the offence of possessing the €35,000, it being the proceeds of criminal activity.
At the lower court, Detective Garda Robert Kennedy testified that he obtained a warrant to search the home of Rakovac on October 25th, 2020.
Det Gda Kennedy told the court that electronic weighing scales and bags were also found along with the drugs, phones and cash, which was discovered in a locked safe.
Senior Counsel Ray Boland said the accused had taken responsibility for the drugs and the cash. In mitigation, counsel said that his client was hard-working, had no previous convictions and was co-operative with gardaí.
Judge Hayes said he would sentence Rakovac to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment, suspending the last 18 months to encourage Rakovac on a path away from drugs.
The charge of having over €35,000, being the proceeds of crime, was taken into consideration.
On Monday, Mr Justice John Edwards said in an 'ex tempore' judgment that the State had argued the decision to take the possession of crime cash into account was a "clear departure from the norm".
Mr Justice Edwards said the three-judge court agreed with the appellant and had additionally found that the 18-month suspended portion of the sentence was also "out of the norm".
He said that there should have been a separate sentence applied for the possession of the €35K as it was a "standalone" offence but agreed that the five-year headline sentence being identified by the sentencing judge was correct.
Mr Justice Edwards said the court would quash the conviction and re-sentence Rakovac to two years and six months on both charges and suspend the final six months on both for one year.
