The Director of Public Prosecutions v Carol Collopy

Venue

Limerick Circuit Court

Judge

Judge Carroll Moran

Summary

Carol Collopy with an address at Danesfort, Corbally, Co. Limerick was charged with three offences contrary to section 78 of the Finance Act 2001 (selling and keeping for sale of tobacco products to which a tax stamp has not been affixed). On 8 May 2012, she pleaded guilty to all three charges. The first charge related to the possession by Carol Collopy of 36,200 unstamped cigarettes on 2 May 2009, with a retail value of €15,250 and a potential loss to the Exchequer of €9,430. The Court was told that the Ms. Collopy had two previous convictions in 2005 for evasion of excise duty on cigarettes.

Today (15 May 2012) at Limerick Circuit Court, Judge Carroll Moran imposed a two year prison sentence for each of the three charges to run concurrently. In passing sentence Judge Moran commented that while the first set of charges was significant, the smaller second and third charges showed repeat offences and he had no alternative but to sentence Ms. Collopy to two years imprisonment.

[Ends: 15/05/12]