A man has been jailed for 20 months in relation to a cannabis growhouse in west Roscommon, valued at up to €725,000.
The judge slammed the 'absolute scourge' of drugs in communities during the court sitting.
Gardai conducted a search of a house in Cloonmullin, Loughglynn, in April 2024 and uncovered a cannabis growhouse.
Roscommon Circuit Court heard it was worth somewhere between €319,000 and €725,000.
Three men were arrested and charged.
One of them was sentenced yesterday - 34-year-old Lithuania native Edgaras Paulaskas, with an address at Greenshank Street, Aston Village, Drogheda, Co Louth.
The court heard he was found hiding in the house at the time of the search.
He pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis plants.
The court heard he said he became involved in the Loughglynn operation because he had good knowledge of cultivation - and was going to be paid €6,000 or €8,000.
Judge Connolly said the growhouse was a very sophisticated operation, but accepted Paulaskas was on the lowest rung of the ladder, was now off drugs himself, and in full-time employment.
He said he entered an early guilty plea, but was caught 'red-handed' in the cultivation premises.
He gave him a prison sentence of three years and eight months, but suspended the final two years - giving him an effective jail term of 20 months.
Judge Connolly described drugs as an 'absolute scourge' that inflicts significant damage on families and communities.
