A disc jockey has been jailed for five years for helping to traffic €1.5 million worth of cannabis into the country.

James Slattery (33) met a lorry driver in Blanchardstown, Dublin who had just brought the cannabis in his lorry from The Netherlands into Ireland. Gardai were carrying out a surveillance operation and moved in as Slattery was transferring the drugs into his car.

Slattery of Carrig Court, Citywest pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cannabis for sale or supply at North West Business Park, Blanchardstown on May 5, 2014.

Judge Martin Nolan said he was taking into account Slattery’s guilty plea and his long history of charity work but said he must impose a jail term.

The lorry driver, Istvan Bogdan (42) from Mohacs in Hungary, was jailed for six years last week for his role. He was told his sentence would have been higher if he was Irish.

Detective Garda Michael Ormond told prosecuting counsel Garrett McCormack BL that Slattery was arrested when the drugs were transferred to his car. The lorry had brought in 78kg of cannabis and Slattery had put about a third of it in his car when officers from the National Drugs Unit moved in.

Slattery admitted his role in interview and said he was paid €1000. He has 14 previous convictions, mostly for minor matters.

Defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC said Slattery is a father since December. He said he works as a “freelance disc jockey”, is not a drug addict and was collecting the drugs to deliver them to another person.