Sicko who abused animals had 27kg of cocaine in his car.
26th February 2024
THIS is the convicted dog-fighting boss on the run from the UK authorities who is now facing prison time in Ireland after being caught with €1.9 million worth of cocaine. John Donaghy, who has 16 previous convictions for animal cruelty, took full responsibility for 27 kilos of the drug found in the boot of his Ford Mondeo outside his rural Co Kildare bolthole last July.
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John Donaghy AKA John Knibbs who was convicted in Naas Circuit Court for having in excess of €2.1M worth of cocaine and canabis for sale or supply at Ballynamullagh, Carbury, Co. Kildare. In the UK, as John Knibbs, he was prosecuted a number of times for dog fighting and was disqualified from keeping animals. Pic taken 31-1-2024
Some of the cash that was seized
Footage of Donaghy’s dog fighting
THIS is the convicted dog-fighting boss on the run from the UK authorities who is now facing prison time in Ireland after being caught with €1.9 million worth of cocaine. John Donaghy, who has 16 previous convictions for animal cruelty, took full responsibility for 27 kilos of the drug found in the boot of his Ford Mondeo outside his rural Co Kildare bolthole last July.
A CONVICTED dog-fighting boss on the run from the UK has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being caught in Ireland with €1.9 million worth of cocaine.
John Donaghy, also known as Knibbs, pleaded guilty to possessing 27 kilos of the drug found in the boot of his Ford Mondeo outside his rural Co Kildare bolt-hole last July
John Donaghy, who has 16 previous convictions for animal cruelty, had been living in Ireland for the last six and a half years breeding dogs despite being disqualified from owning an animal in the UK.
Footage of Donaghy’s dog fighting
The 59-year-old father of six also admitted holding €110,000 cash found in a Super Valu shopping bag on a shelf in a kitchen hot-press by the Garda Organised Crime and Drugs Unit during a search.
Judge Martina Baxter sentenced him last week after previously hearing the evidence against him, also handing down a five-year sentence for money laundering to be served concurrently.
His sentence was back-dated to when he first went in prison last year.
Gardai acting on “confidential information” carried out the search at Donaghy’s home at Ballynamullagh, Carbury Co Kildare.
The drugs were found immediately and Donaghy took full responsibility for them and the cash found in the kitchen and was “full co-operative”.
Donaghy‘s own CCTV system captured him loading the blocks of cocaine contained in a black refuse sack into his car.
A garda witness said in court Donaghy told him that if he revealed who he was holding the drugs and cash for he would “fear for my wife and kids.”
He and his wife Kimberleigh Steele have lived at the Kildare house for the last three years with their four children aged under six.
During his time in Ireland the UK native has not come to the attention of the gardai and has been in custody since his arrested in July last year.
There were no obvious trappings or wealth, but Donaghy had no income to support his family other than his dog breeding.
It was heard at Naas Circuit Court that Donaghy held the stash at the home he shared with his partner and young children to pay off a drug debt thanks to his €500 to €600 a week cocaine habit.
It emerged that Donaghy still had “outstanding” matters to deal with in the UK courts in relation to his dog-fighting convictions.
Donaghy had changed his name by deed poll from John Knibbs, it was heard at a previous bail hearing.
His defence counsel said he was “under pressure” to pay his drug debts which had “got bigger and didn’t go away” and found himself in a situation where he had no control over what was delivered.
Since being in prison he had beaten his addiction and was on an enhanced regime working as a cleaner.
Donaghy was convicted in his absence in the UK, under the name of John Knibbs, for several offences relating to dog fighting at Lincoln magistrates’ court in 2019 after failing to appear at his own trial.
The prosecution came as a result of Operation Camelot, a joint investigation into organised dog fighting by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and police forces in England and Wales.
Donaghy, is seen as a key figure in the world of organised dog fighting and was first convicted of dog fighting in 2009 and banned from keeping dogs for life.