Growhouse co-accused sentenced for cultivation

Two Lithuanian men “trafficked” to Ireland to work as gardeners in a cannabis growhouse in Arvagh have been sentenced before Cavan Circuit Court.

Edas Jankauskas (21) charged with cultivating cannabis and possession of €2,750 in cash, the proceeds of crime, was given a 12 month sentence; while Valius Sakavicius (24), due to his previous criminal record, received a 16-month term for cultivation. Both sentences were back-dated to take into account time already served.

As part of the sentencing handed down by Judge John Aylmer, Jankausas has been given four weeks to leave the country post release and told he cannot return for a period of 12 months.

They pleaded guilty last February to cultivation of cannabis worth over €195,000 at 3 Bruce Manor, Arvagh, on November 16, 2023. The offence carries with it a maximum term of 14 years' imprisonment before mitigation.

The discovery of the growhouse followed a search carried out by local gardaí, members of the Armed Support Unit, and the newly established Garda divisional dog unit.

Garda Keith Maguire gave evidence.

The court heard from statements read by State Prosecutor Monica Lawlor, instructed by solicitor Rory Hayden, that Gda Maguire obtained a search warrant for the Bruce Manor property from Cavan District Court the morning of the raid.

Jankauskas attempted to run out the back door and Sakavicius also attempted to escape, but both were apprehended, cautioned, arrested, and taken to Cavan Garda Station.

Jankauskas was found in possession of €2,750 in cash.

In total there were 244 cannabis plants found at the house, many of which were in a mature and harvestable state of growth. There were 57 plants in one room, with the rest spread out in two other rooms in the house.

A forensic report on 24 individual plant clippings confirmed them to be cannabis.

Jankauskas, the court was told, immediately asked to speak with a solicitor. He made “full admissions” to gardaí about his involvement, and also asked to “speak with his mother”.

“He was extremely upset,” said Gda Maguire.

The judge was told that Jankauskas had amassed debts in excess of €7,000 through visiting a local casino back home in Lithuania.

He told gardaí he'd been “hit and beaten”, that he felt “trapped” working in the growhouse, and was ultimately too “afraid to run away”.

Jankauskas stated that his mother had been “threatened” for his failure to pay back the money he owed, that he had been taken to the house in Arvagh where he met Sakavicius, who himself only arrived there the month before.

Jankauskas told gardaí he “didn't want to be there”.

“I'm not a criminal,” said Jankauskas, who Judge Aylmer was told once had a promising career as a talented footballer before contracting Covid, an illness from which he never fully recovered. Unable to play the game he loved, Jankauskas instead whittled his time away gambling.

Jankauskas told gardaí he'll “never come back” to Ireland if released. He was told by the gang the owed money to that he was to work at the growhouse “to pay off the debt”.

The money Jankauskas was found in possession of was due to be handed over at a “football ground” near Cavan.

Sakavicius, the court, was informed had “run away” from Lithuania to escape the consequences of having been caught carrying drugs.

He told gardaí he'd been charged with supply back home, and had been involved in smuggling drugs into prison.

He denied knowing Jankauskas before the two men were forcibly brought together.

When told the value of the cannabis being grown Sakavicius replied: “Horrible.”

He too had been brought to Ireland to pay back a debt.

Both men have been in custody since the day after their arrests.

Jankauskas, represented in court by Garnet Orange SC, had been remanded in custody with consent to bail, and Sakavicius remanded without consent given by the courts.

The court was told that there is an extradition warrant in existence for Sakavicius, represented by Dara Foynes SC to be sent back to Lithuania for sentencing. However, he's hoping to serve out any sentence handed down in Lithuania in Ireland.

Mr Orange said that Jankauskas' family had “spent a lot” trying to help their son rediscover his potential. However, he became “depressed” and ended up spending time gambling at a casino until one day the defendant was “confronted”.

He was told he'd be working in “construction”, and “before he knew it he was working in a growhouse”.

Ms Foynes said her client had tried to flee from gardaí because of the appearance of officers armed with guns.

She said there was “some documentation” found at 3 Bruce Manor referring to two other males who were never accounted for.

Sakavicius had waived his right to legal representation in interview, and gave a voluntary account of how he had become a “pawn of bigger operators”.

An early school leaver, Sakavicius's brother is also in jail. The defendant started out as a welder but served time for anti-social behaviour, amassing a gambling debt while inside, and then was forced to move drugs when released to pay back what was owed.

She said Sakavicius had been “naive” not to have asked more questions.

While living at 3 Bruce Manor the men were provided with a “stipend” for food, and given the use of a car. There was no evidence that they were profiting from the growing activity.

Judge Aylmer placed the offending of both men at the “lower end” of the scale of such offending, with a starting point of 18 months for Jankauskas and two years for Sakavicius.

Both had been “gardeners”, and he said of Jankauskas that the defendant seems to have “very much learned his lesson”.

He reduced his term to 12 months with the remainder suspended and for Jankauskas to be released within seven days of sentence on condition that he leave the country in four weeks and not return for 12 months.

The charge of possessing cash, the proceeds of crime, was marked proven and taken into account.

Noting how Sakavicius was “inveigled” to pay off a debt, but given his history of involvement in the drug trade in Lithuania, the judge imposed a 16-month sentence.

A nolle prosequi was entered in respect of all remaining counts on the indictment.