Paul Meenaghan, 43, sentenced to 4 years and 10 months

A man found with almost £30k cash, £22K of heroin, and hundreds of pounds worth of cocaine has been jailed for four years and ten months.

Specialist officers carried out a warrant at Paul Meenaghan’s rental address in Elder Street, Lincoln where they uncovered tens of thousands of pounds worth of drugs including the heroin and £400 of cocaine, as well as £29,620 in cash.

The drugs were uncovered with the help of Police Dog (PD) Toby, brought in specially to sniff out illegal substances. Officers searching the property also located a taser, and numerous other offensive weapons.

Meenaghan, 43, was in the property when officers entered on 17 May, and was arrested at the scene before being charged with multiple offences.  

His property was targeted thanks to community intelligence and the hard work of a number of teams across the Force. The warrant was executed as part of a week of enforcement for Operation Raptor, our year-round effort to keep the county as safe as possible by targeting weapon-enabled crime.

The enforcement activity involved staff and officers from our neighbourhood, response and intelligence teams, Roads Policing Unit (RPU), armed policing, Tactical Search Teams (TST), and dog units, all with the support of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Crime, and Force Control Room. The work carries on year-round.

Sergeant Dan Gstrein from Lincolnshire Police, said:  “This investigation shows the value of intelligence-led policing and collaborative working between different departments. Due to the hard work of officers and staff from across the Force, a significant quantity of drugs have been taken off the streets of Lincoln and almost £30,000 in cash has been recovered. The sentence reflects this serious offending and puts a dangerous individual in prison for a significant period.”

Meenaghan was sentenced to four years and ten months for possession with intent to supply of Class A heroin. He also received further sentences to run concurrently: 12 months for possession of criminal property, another four months for possession of prohibited weapon, and a two month sentence for possession of batons. He had also pleaded guilty to possession of Class A cocaine, but received no separate penalty for this.

He was sentenced at a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on 5 October after pleading guilty at earlier hearings.  

He has been on remand since being charged and will now begin his prison sentence.