Shooting survivor threw Kinder Surprise egg full of cocaine away after being spotted by gardai, court hearts

A SERIAL criminal was caught with a Kinder Surprise egg full of cocaine when gardai saw him sitting in a car in west Dublin.

Scott Purdue (23), who has twice survived being shot, threw the egg over his shoulder and ran, but gardai retrieved it from the car and found the drugs worth €300 hidden inside.

Purdue, was also caught behind the wheel without insurance or a licence twice after he had already been banned from driving for six years.

Judge Gerard Jones jailed him for five months but made the sentence concurrent to a jail term he is already serving.

He also disqualified Purdue from driving for 10 years.

Purdue, formerly of Shancastle Park, Clondalkin pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply, uninsured and unlicenced driving and garda obstruction.

Garda Lee Keenan told Blanchardstown District Court he saw Purdue entering a blue Ford Focus at Shancastle Park at 2.05pm on October 29, 2019.

As the gardai approached, Purdue noticed them, threw a yellow object over his shoulder and “swiftly exited” the car.

Gda Keenan said he discovered a Kinder egg which was the only yellow object in the rear of the car. It was found to contain €300 worth of cocaine.

The accused was not arrested at the time because he had left the area.

Purdue also admitted driving without a licence or insurance in two incidents in Shancastle Park.

Gda Keenan arrested him after he stopped him driving a Citroen Berlingo van on October 10, 2019.

The garda agreed with defence solicitor John Shanley the extent of the driving was that Purdue had reversed out of the driveway and parked the car up.

Mr Shanley said the accused left the engine running because he was cold and he was using it to heat the car.

Garda Sergeant Maria Callaghan said on December 9, 2019, gardai on patrol saw Purdue in the driver’s seat of an Audi A3, parked across the footpath, with the engine running.

Purdue obstructed the garda when he tried to hide the car keys by throwing them into a green area. He was arrested.

The court heard Purdue had 96 previous convictions, including nine for uninsured driving and 12 for having no licence. He also had prior convictions for possession of drugs, dangerous driving and assault.

He was under a six-year driving ban at the time of the 2019 offences.

Mr Shanley said the “common theme” to the driving offences before the court were that Purdue was using the engine to keep himself warm.

He was aware his previous record left “a lot to be desired.”

The accused had been “in and out of court” on a regular basis and was already serving a sentence with a release date in October this year.

Purdue was the victim of “significant crimes” in the past, and the court had previously heard he was shot in 2017 and left with a bullet lodged in his head and no peripheral vision.

Mr Shanley said Purdue was not able to dress himself andneeded the help of other prisoners. He was finding prison more difficult than the average person because of his medical situation and was relying on the help of other inmates to help him through this, Mr Shanley said.

Online Editors