Lithuanian national Evaldas Juknevicus was caught inside a sophisticated Roscommon cannabis operation holding 36.33kg of the drug. He hid in attic insulation, fled, supplied a false name and withheld phone codes before later admitting his role. The court imposed five-and-a-half immediate years and ordered him to leave Ireland after custody and remain outside for 15 years.
Operation Tara at Loughglynn
Gardaí searched the Cloonmullen property at Loughglynn on 9 April 2024. Every room was being used to grow cannabis and the attic contained a hydroponic watering system. The official announcement initially valued the seizure at approximately €700,000.
Sentencing reports later recorded 170 plants, all but five harvested, and 36.33kg of cannabis. A Garda estimate put the material at €725,940; an independent report calculated €319,030 based on the composition of flowering heads, ground leaf and seeded cannabis. Both figures belong in the record. Neither should be silently presented as a final sale value.
Concealment, flight and admissions
When Gardaí entered, Juknevicus and another man hid beneath attic insulation. Juknevicus then fled on foot before being caught. He gave a false name, refused to supply phone PINs and initially provided no useful explanation. He later made full admissions.
The defence said a motorcycle-racing injury created financial pressure and that brutal individuals had pressured his family. Judge Kenneth Connolly found that explanation difficult to accept because it had not been raised during the investigation. The court also considered his early plea, lack of previous convictions, family separation and positive prison record.
Sentence and the leave condition
Juknevicus pleaded guilty in Roscommon Circuit Court on 18 June 2025 to possessing cannabis worth at least €13,000 for sale or supply. The judge set seven years and suspended the final 18 months, leaving five-and-a-half immediate years backdated to 11 April 2024.
The court ordered him to leave Ireland when released and not return for 15 years. That is reported as a sentencing condition. It is not described here as a ministerial deportation or EU removal order, because the located record does not establish that separate administrative process.
Chronology
- Before 2024: no previous convictions reported.
- 9 April 2024: Operation Tara search finds the grow house and three men.
- 11 April 2024: custody date later used for sentence backdating.
- 18 June 2025: guilty plea entered.
- October 2025: seven years imposed with 18 months suspended.
- After custody: court condition requires departure and 15 years outside Ireland.
Cost benchmark
Five-and-a-half immediate years represents a face-value staffed-prison-space benchmark of €544,896 at the Irish Prison Service’s 2024 annual average of €99,072. The nominal seven-year term would benchmark at €693,504.
Questions the record leaves
- Who organised and financed the Loughglynn operation?
- What did the investigation, prosecution and eventual departure enforcement cost?
- How will the 15-year non-return condition be recorded and monitored?
- Will a separate removal or exclusion decision be made before release?
- Which valuation best reflects the material actually capable of sale?