A MOTHER-OF-ONE has pleaded guilty of trying to sell €90,000 of stolen gold jewellery to a cash for gold shop.

Kathleen Kiely (31) of Lymington Avenue, London, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, charged with handling stolen property on 21 January, 2018. She has no previous convictions.

Garda Sergeant Aidan Carroll told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that gardaí had placed the Gold Digger jewellery shop in Tallaght under surveillance after receiving information that two men were to call there.

A woman exited a car driven by her former partner and approached the shop carrying a handbag and a second large bag that appeared to be heavy.

She was stopped by gardaí, who discovered that the second bag contained a large amount of badly damaged gold jewellery.

The original value of the jewellery was €90,000, but the court heard that due to the damage it suffered, its value had been reduced to €37,000.

The jewellery was traced to a burglary in Lucan several days earlier.

The accused had come into the shop the previous day and asked the owner how much he would pay for 18 carat gold, saying her husband had some that he wanted to sell.

Not involved

The garda agreed with John Griffin BL, defending, that Kiely was not the primary target of gardaí.

He also accepted that there was no suggestion she was involved with the burglary.

The mother-of-one lives in London and was attending an engagement party in Ireland with her former partner at the time of the offence.

Counsel for the accused said that his client was influenced by her former partner Michael Maughan (25) to commit the offence.

He said that his client had instructed him to express her remorse and offer her apologies to the victim and the court.

Maughan of Hazel Hill, Tallaght, Dublin, also pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to handling assorted stolen jewellery on the same date.

Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to four year’s imprisonment with the final two suspended.

Today, Judge Karen O’Connor ordered a probation report and adjourned the matter to July 30th next.

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