Mob boss was under the radar until €10m bust

Asst Cmmr Cleary was speaking outside the CCJ complex in Dublin after Circuit Criminal Court Judge Orla Crowe jailed father of four Pender for 15 years for the massive drugs operation and refused a defence plea to suspend a portion of the term.

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That means, with standard remission of 25% along with time already served, Pender will serve just over 11 years and be freed in August 2036, when he is aged 63.

Pender was described in court yesterday as the manager of the "entire cell of a drug distribution network in the Dublin area".

Judge Crowe said gardai are satisfied that "no people were higher up nationally" than Pender.

She said it was "a highly sophisticated operation that involved two vehicles which had been adapted to have hidden compartments to store drugs, a rented shipping container, a stolen Garda uniform and a falsely registered delivery company.

Pender of Ely Green, Tallaght, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of an assortment of drugs for sale or supply at The Ward in Co Meath on July 19, 2024. He has three previous convictions for minor road traffic offences.

He further pleaded guilty to having two vehicles - a Peugeot and a Mercedes Luton van - which had been fitted with a compartment in circumstances giving rise to the inference that he possessed or controlled it for the purpose connected with the commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug trafficking offence on the same date.

Finally, he pleaded guilty to money laundering of €1,149,920 in cash at The Ward, his home and his parents' home on the same date.

ADDICTION