THREE men from Derry have faced a court charged with having cocaine worth about £250,000, with intent to supply.
Mark Dixon, of Westway; Dale McCormick, from Springvale Park in the city and Michael Anwyl, from Irwin Avenue, Limavady appeared today for a first remand hearing.
The court heard police found 8.8 lbs (4kg) of suspected cocaine when they stopped a taxi driven near Nutts Corner in Antrim on Thursday during a planned operation.
The drugs had been divided into 32 individual blocks.
Ballymena Magistrates’ Court heard that Dixon, a 43-year-old taxi driver, was behind the wheel when officers stopped the vehicle.
McCormick, a 22-year-old builder, was also in the vehicle.
Thirty-year-old unemployed Anwyl was not in the taxi at the time but police alleged he was “directing” the other two men.
A police officer said Dixon and McCormick were both forthcoming and answered all questions during police interviews.
He added that Anwyl did not answer many questions and told officers that he had no involvement in drugs.
A defence lawyer applied for bail for Mr Dixon and Mr McCormick, but police objected saying they feared “there could be intimidation”.
Officers also said they had “fears for their safety” if the two men were granted bail.
Mr Dixon’s lawyer said his client was offered £400 to transport packages from Nutts Corner to Roe Valley Park in Limavady..
He said that while the taxi driver had been “caught red-handed”, he did not know what he was transporting but accepted that it was “something untoward”.
The lawyer also said that his client, whose 43rd birthday was spent in court, was of good character and had no criminal record.
He added that “there’s no evidential basis that there’s a threat against my client”.
But, the judge said she accepted that the police fears were “well-founded” and she refused bail.
The judge was also told that McCormick had been “extremely frank” during police interviews.
The lawyer said his grandparents were willing to offer the deeds of the family home if bail was granted.
However, the judge rejected the application, telling the lawyer: “Nothing you can say will convince me he’s a suitable candidate for bail.”
There was no bail application for Anwyl and all three will come before the court again on December 19.
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