Two Lithuanian men, believed to be members of a gang that is bringing heroin into Galway, have been remanded in custody after appearing before Galway District Court.
Robert Turkovski and Vladimer Ceiko, both with addresses at 21 Sylvan Avenue, Newcastle, appeared in Court after being arrested by a member of the Garda Drugs Squad for impeding the Gardaí by putting heroin in their mouth and swallowing it instead of spitting it out when asked to do so.
Turkovski was arrested at Riverside, Tuam Road on January 19 and, across town on the same day, Ceiko was arrested on a similar charge.
A bail application from Ceiko’s defending solicitor, Brian Gilmartin, was rejected by Judge Mary Fahy after hearing objections from Gardaí that he was a flight risk, that he was allegedly part of a Lithuanian gang distributing heroin around Galway and that at least ten people had given 21 Sylvan Avenue as their address and that there was no evidence they were tenants.
A search of the premises revealed evidence that some of the people living there slept on mattresses on the floor.
Inspector Kevin Gately told the Court that the owner of the property had another rented property elsewhere in the city where occupants, also foreign nationals, were giving Gardaí a lot of trouble.
Judge Fahy said she wouldn’t accept that address unless the defendants had evidence that they were registered tenants.
One of the defendants arrived in Galway five days before his court appearance while the other man was just a month in the city.
They were remanded in custody to appear before Harristown District Court, which is attached to Castlerea Prison, last Friday.
Again they were remanded in custody to appear in the same court this Friday.
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