Filipino-born man caught with €161k drugs in Castlebar faces deportation from Ireland
Joshua Ajanovic, 26, pleaded guilty to drug possession and money laundering after gardaí found €161,000 worth of MDMA, ketamine and other substances at his Castlebar home.
Drug debt led to €161,000 haul at Castlebar address, court told
A twenty-six-year-old man who has lived in Ireland since the age of one is facing a deportation order after pleading guilty to possessing €161,000 worth of drugs for sale or supply and money laundering, mayonews.ie reports.
Joshua Ajanovic, with an address at Tonragee West, Achill, appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court where he admitted both charges. A deportation order issued by the Department of Justice on 5 May 2025 has been deferred pending the outcome of proceedings.
Customs interception triggered the garda operation
The case began when customs officers intercepted a postal package addressed to Mr Ajanovic's then-address at Chestnut Grove, Castlebar. An Garda Síochána were notified and on 11 June 2024 the package was collected by the defendant at his home, where he signed for it using the name John Walsh.
Detective Sergeant Darren Conlon told the court the package contained 2kg of MDMA — also known as ecstasy — valued at €120,000. The substance arrived in a crystallised form described as resembling a "hard rock of lava," which Detective Sgt Conlon said gardaí at the scene did not initially recognise. Assistance was sought from the National Drugs Bureau, who confirmed the substance and explained it could be dissolved in liquid or rubbed into the gums.
A subsequent search of the property uncovered further drugs: €40,404 worth of ketamine — identified by Mr Ajanovic himself when questioned, before analysis confirmed it — along with smaller quantities of cannabis and cocaine. Cash of €1,820 was also seized. The total value of all drugs recovered came to €161,086.65.
Defendant told gardaí he was acting to repay a drug debt
Mr Ajanovic was arrested at the scene and, Detective Sgt Conlon told the court, took immediate responsibility. When questioned, he stated he had a drug debt and had been instructed by others to receive the package. He had not previously come to the attention of gardaí in Castlebar, though he carried a prior conviction for cannabis cultivation in Co. Leitrim.
Detective Sgt Conlon, responding to questioning by Colm Smyth SC, counsel for the defence, accepted that the defendant had a difficult upbringing. He also acknowledged that gardaí had not anticipated finding such a large quantity of drugs in the property. While he accepted Mr Ajanovic may have been selling to fund his own habit, Detective Sgt Conlon said he was not persuaded the defendant was naive about what he was involved in.
Upbringing in Hare Krishna movement described as traumatic
Mr Ajanovic gave evidence that his father is Croatian and his mother is Filipino, and that he was born in the Philippines but moved to Ireland at the age of one. He told Judge Eoin Garavan that his parents were members of the Hare Krishna movement and that their strict religious practice caused trauma during his childhood. He said he was required to wear a distinctive hairstyle — a long ponytail with a shaved crown — which he said led to difficulties in school.
He claimed his father beat him with a cable and that, at the age of 18, he was coerced out of the family home. He subsequently moved in with a friend's family and found work in a supermarket in Carrick-on-Shannon, but said he fell in with the wrong people and began using drugs as a means of coping.
Mr Ajanovic spent nine weeks in custody following his arrest before being released on High Court bail. He had since been living with his partner in Achill.
Hotel manager describes him as exemplary employee
The General Manager of Hotel Newport, Sharon Kennedy, gave evidence that Mr Ajanovic has been employed at the hotel for the past 13 months and is well regarded both there and within the Newport community. She said he disclosed his arrest to her last May and that she has only positive things to say about his conduct as an employee.
Mr Ajanovic also told the court he travels twice a week to Co. Leitrim to take part in a bog restoration project. He said he is now drug-free, in a stable relationship, and wishes to build a better life. He asked the court for leniency, while accepting that what he had done was serious.
On the question of his immigration status, Mr Ajanovic said he has spent his entire life in Ireland but that his parents did not arrange for him to obtain Irish citizenship and he did not know how to resolve the situation.
Judge sets headline sentence and adjourns for 12 months
Judge Garavan noted that Mr Ajanovic is charged with one of the most serious offences and said that, without the work of customs officers and gardaí, the drugs might never have been detected.
Having heard the evidence, the judge set a headline sentence of six months but adjourned finalisation of the sentencing for 12 months to allow Mr Ajanovic to demonstrate continued recovery. The judge directed an updated probation report and ordered that Mr Ajanovic undergo hair follicle drug tests in January and August 2027. He was remanded on bail to appear again before the court on 12 October 2027.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)