Two men have appeared at Derry Magistrate’s Court charged with possession, possession with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of Class A and C drugs.
53 year old Sean McMonagle of Clon Elagh in Derry and Gian Maria Marglonghi aged 29, an Italian national but with an address given as Lower Main Street in Letterkenny, were charged with the offences that were said to have occurred on Wednesday last.
Police searched a brown bin at McMonagle’s address and found two sports bags containing approximately 5kg of Class A drugs and just under 1kg of Class C drugs valued at £100,000.
They also found a number of individual deal bags.
The court was told police observed on CCTV two men arriving in a vehicle with Marglonghi getting out, taking the bags out and removing two hold-alls from the boot of the car.
McMonagle was then seen to get out of the car and go towards the house, returning minutes later wearing black gloves and going into a neighbouring property.
McMonagle and Marglonghi were arrested later that afternoon.
Police found Marglonghi to be asleep in McMonagle’s house when they arrived and found signs of drug use, including scales and gloves.
When interviewed, McMonagle gave no comment answers but did provide the passcode to his phone.
He also said that he occasionally went to his neighbour’s house for a cigarette, but police challenged why he felt the need to wear gloves when doing this.
Marglonghi admitted to being in the car and removing the hold-alls and to opening both bags.He said that he had handled the contents but did not know what was in them at the time.
Bail was opposed for both defendends as police believed that there was a risk of reoffending and a risk of interfering with the course of justice.
McMonagle is also described as having a criminal justice footprint, while Marglonghi does not.
Speaking for McMonagle, Defence Barrister Stephen Mooney said that ‘at no point’ was his client seen to be holding drugs.
He said that ‘obviously the charges are serious’ and that it was a ‘sizable’ amount of drugs that were found, but it was not sufficient to deny bail.
He also said that McMonagle had provided the passcode to his phone, indicating that he was not likely to interfere with the course of justice and said that there was no forensic evidence linking him to the drugs.
Bail was refused.
Defending Marglonghi, Defence Barrister Stephen Chapman said that there was no risk of flight as police are in possession of his passport.
He added that Marglonghi ‘wasn’t aware’ of what was in the bags, as indicated by the fact that he was not wearing gloves when he handled them.
The court also heard that Marglonghi has been living with McMonagle since January, having first met when Marglonghi was a teenager and McMonagle was ‘the Irish man in the village that everyone liked’.
Bail was granted and both will appear again on April 16.
