Drogheda pair sentenced for running social media drug network tied to criminal gang
A court has handed down prison terms to two men who used social media to distribute narcotics under a branded operation connected to an organised crime faction.
Drogheda pair sentenced for running social media drug network tied to criminal gang
A judge has sent two men from the Moneymore area of Drogheda to prison for their roles in a branded narcotics distribution ring operating through social platforms.
Dean Thornton, aged 28, and Gary Kelly, 31, stood before Dundalk Circuit Court after admitting involvement in a criminal organisation. Thornton also accepted a money laundering charge, while Kelly pleaded guilty to two counts of holding drugs with intent to sell.
The enterprise ran from mid-2023 through late 2024. It marketed itself with a distinctive name and visual identity that appeared on product packaging purchased by undercover officers. The brand's imagery also showed up in music clips where Thornton appeared as a hip-hop performer, and the logo was pitched to cage fighters for endorsement.
Digital handles used by the pair carried a three-letter suffix understood to signal allegiance to one camp in a local gang conflict. Buyers were sent regular catalogues of available products via online messaging services.
Thornton lacked any lawful earnings yet occupied the top position in the hierarchy, according to evidence presented. Law enforcement witnesses characterised his musical pursuits as a front for promoting illegal sales. His criminal record spans 18 entries, among them narcotics distribution and violent assault. A pre-sentence evaluation rated his likelihood of returning to crime as extremely elevated. Since being taken into custody at the start of 2025, he has faced several disciplinary issues in detention related to prohibited items found in shared quarters.
Kelly's record is more extensive, with 85 entries spanning drug offences committed abroad and dozens of property crimes domestically. He portrayed himself as taking commands from above, a narrative the sentencing judge found only partially credible.
Both defendants told the court they have ceased using substances. Thornton provided a written expression of remorse, and the mother of his child submitted a statement on his behalf.
The presiding judge, Dara Hayes, characterised the conduct as grave and prolonged, perpetrated by well-placed figures within a group that has inflicted significant harm on the Drogheda community and surrounding counties. Hayes emphasised that neither man acted out of dependency; rather, they occupied leadership positions and also pursued debts by force.
For Thornton, the overall custodial term came to eight years and nine months for the gang membership offence, running alongside five years for financial crime, with the last fifteen months held in abeyance. Kelly's headline sentence was eight years, with overlapping terms for the possession counts, likewise suspended after fifteen months. When backdated to their arrest in January, Thornton faces seven and a half years behind bars, and Kelly six years and nine months.
Source: Irish Independent
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