A woman caught with the proceeds of crime at her home in Longford Town amounting to over €28,000 says she has learned a "dear lesson." Antoinette Devaney of 14 Old Ardnacassa, Dublin Road, Longford previously pleaded guilty to money laundering in Longford Circuit Criminal Court with a sentence hearing taking place last week. Gardaí searched the woman's home in Old Ardnacassa in February of 2021, with Ms Devaney guiding them to the items when asked if she was holding anything that 'was not supposed to be there.' The then 48 year old led the guards to her bedroom, where she revealed a sum of cash amounting to €7,750. She also uncovered four items of jewellery, including a necklace, two pairs of earrings, and an 18-carat yellow gold Rolex watch worth €11,000, with the total value of the jewellery at over €20,000.
When interrogated, Ms. Devaney confessed she had been 'holding' the cash and jewellery for an individual in exchange for cocaine. When asked who the individual was. she told Gardaí that she 'preferred' not to identify her for her safety and that of her family. She admitted she used cocaine recreationally, saying that she 'had got some coke before' from the individual, who she revealed had been a client at her home-based hairdressing service. When asked if she knew where the sum of cash had come from, Ms. Devaney said she did not know and that she was 'sure it was not legit.' The investigating Garda told Longford District Court that Ms. Devaney 'appeared to be truthful' and confirmed that she had no previous convictions and had accepted she had been 'naive' and 'stupid'.
She also expressed remorse and embarrassment for her actions, with the Defence indicating their hope that she would be eligible for community service. The court was also told Ms. Devaney has been struggling with her mental health over the course of the investigation, and following medical consultation, she was referred to a psychologist for counselling. However the probation report had referenced incidence of avoidness behaviour with supports, which the defence attributed to her embarrassment and shame over her actions. Referencing this and her late plea of guilty on the day of the jury empanelment, Judge Connelly stated it was his concern that her plea was a self serving one and a sort of 'qualified guilty'. Judge Kenneth Connolly suspended his verdict in favour of an updated report from the probation service. He told the court that any avoidness behaviour must be dealt with, and he wants to be certain 'the penny has dropped' for Ms Devaney before he would consider community service.
