The headline resembles satire – a former airline captain responsible for the well-being of hundreds of passengers at 30,000 ft is charged in a cannabis multimillion-euro venture. But the legal case in the public eye reveals a more complicated set of contradictions around Europe’s changing relationship with the plant.
The pilot (who was arrested after a seizure valued at €10 million) faced the prospect of long-term imprisonment initially but now, through the appeal process, has been granted bail. This has raised questions not just about the culpability of this man, but also about cannabis cases, and more importantly, the significance associated with his case. Vast illicit markets exist precisely because our strained legal framework is fragmented.
Brendan O’Mara (62), a former Ryanair pilot, faced charges of possession of cannabis for sale or supply after gardaí and Customs officers found pallets in his home in Meelick, Co. Clare, allegedly containing 502 kilograms of cannabis, with a street value exceeding €10 million. He was initially refused bail from a High Court, but subsequently appealed the decision , and the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal against the High Court decision.
In the ruling, Mr Justice John Edwards accepted the “seriousness of the charges” which carry a maximum life sentence, as well as acknowledging that gardaí had fears O’Mara may be a flight risk because of arranging to emigrate to the United States shortly before his arrest. The judge stressed that in theory the accused could get an airplane from a private airfield and leave the jurisdiction. However, the concerns existed as real, but “not at the level that requires us to deny bail entirely.”
As terms of his bail, O’Mara had to:
- surrender his pilot’s license and passport.
- provide an independent surety of €150,000 and his own bond of €70,000 (€35,000 already put down).
- sign on every day at a Garda station.
- reside at the family home in Co. Clare.
- not work or attend airfields.
- not apply for travel documents or enter Northern Ireland.
Defence counsel Michael Bowman SC submitted that Ms Justice Eileen Creedon made a mistake in the High Court, when she held O’Mara was a flight risk because of work. He explained that O’Mara does not have access to airfields, nor is he a member of an airfield. And Bowman said that with the surrender of his pilot’s license, “short of stealing an airplane, he can’t get an airplane.”
Nonetheless, counsel of the State, Roisin Lacey SC, warned that O’Mara’s decades of experience and contacts in the industry presents him with a possible means of escape. She also mentioned prior preparation to leave the jurisdiction with family as an indication of possible fleeing.
The symbolism of a former pilot — a person who represents accuracy and control — a criminal, identified in an industry that is recognized elsewhere in the world is hard to miss. Patients in Germany line up for prescriptions, while in the UK they discuss cannabis investment as the “green rush.” Meanwhile in Ireland, the same substance has the capacity to wreck and destroy professions and reputations.
Critics of prohibition assert that trial sensationalism masks systemic failure. There is a €10m cannabis haul because of large demand and supply chains exist because of criminalization. Accountability, for example of individuals in a position of trust, only acknowledges the symptoms not the causes. Supporters of the current law affirm that professionalism demands its own level of responsibility and examples of their enforcement is a necessary part of the public trust in aviation and law regulation.
The remaining truth is that the gap between public perception and legal policy is widening. The case of Brendan O’Mara is less about a man’s choice than Europe’s unfinished reconciliation with cannabis. Unless regulation replaces, well, criminality, it’s doubtful that scandal will disappear from the headlines, while centrally important structural issues will remain untackled.
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