By Ronan Judge

A Galway businessman displayed a “certain amount of cavalierness” when he purchased what he thought was a legitimate cannabis product he intended to sell in his vape shops, a court has heard.

At Galway District Court, Judge John King told Shir Zamani (52) that as a “successful businessman”, his radar should have been up when he purchased the cannabis product from a company in Cork.

Zamani, with an address at 86 Tara Grove, Wellpark, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for the purposes of sale or otherwise supply at his home address on October 19, 2024, contrary to section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The court heard that as part of an investigation into the sale of cannabis in Galway, Gardaí searched the accused’s home and found cannabis valued at €1,440 in a bedroom.

Zamani admitted ownership of the drug and said he intended selling it in his vape shops in Galway, the court heard.

He has no previous convictions.

Defence barrister, Garry McDonald BL, told the court his client owned three vape shops and purchased CBD oil from a business in Cork to be sold in vape form.

Counsel said his client thought this was a legitimate purchase and he was “not a drug dealer as such”.

Judge King asked what exactly was found during the search of the accused’s home and Garda Conor Breen said it was a quantity of cannabis herb.

Garda Breen said the item was sent for analysis at Forensic Science Ireland and a result came back for cannabis.

Mr McDonald said his client understood that if the cannabis product had a Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level of below 0.02%, it could be legally sold. Counsel said this was the view of a European Court but in Ireland, the Court of Appeal had ruled that the applicable THC level was from the biological plant from which the product is derived.

After looking at the product containers, Judge King said the labelling was “very disingenuous” as it stated the product was in compliance with EU law on the cultivation of cannabis.

Judge King said the accused had shown a “certain amount of cavalierness” and in dealing with a product such as this, his “radar should have been up”.

He said the accused was not a naive individual but rather, the court had been told, “a successful businessman”.

Mr McDonald asked if the case could be dealt with by way of charitable contribution as his client intended to become an Irish citizen and a criminal conviction could jeopardise that process.

Judge King said the fact the accused was a businessman who intended to sell this product to the public took the case beyond charity and into the realm of fines and community service.

“There is no way he can avoid a conviction before me today”, he added.

Judge King recommended 100 hours of community service in lieu of five months in prison.

He said the decision reflected the fact Zamani ran a number of businesses and it was up to him to know what he was selling.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.

Pictured: Businessman thought he had bought a legitimate cannabis product he could sell in his vape shops.