A man who was caught holding over €200,000 worth of drugs in his homeless accommodation has been jailed for five years.

Peter Kane, 49, had secured the Dublin bedsit having come clean off heroin and stabilised on metahdone. He had not been in trouble with the gardaí for seven years before he was “offered cocaine for free in his local pub”, Vincent Heneghan SC, defending said.

He was then told he owed money for the drugs and was put under pressure to store cocaine, cannabis resin and heroin, with a total street value of €203,666. Kane was evicted from his bedsit when he was arrested by gardaí after the drugs were discovered and has been homeless since.

Kane pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine, cannabis resin and heroin at his then home on Decies Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin on May 13, 2019.

His 16 previous convictions included offences such as robbery, forgery, road traffic and begging.

Judge Martin Nolan said Kane gave an explanation to gardaí that he was holding the drugs for other people and put under pressure to do so.

He jailed him for five years after acknowledging that he had had a hard life and he has children living in England.

Garda Marie O'Hara told Siobhán Ní Chúlacháin BL, prosecuting that confidential information led to Kane's home being searched by gardaí. The drugs were found under his bed along with a weighing scales.

In interview with gardaí Kane admitted he was holding the drugs for others and described himself as “a gilly”.