Drug dealer threatened to get 'junkies' to rape woman's son over €157k drug debt

Eoin Reynolds

A drug dealer told a mother that he would get "junkies" to rape her son if she failed to repay his €157,000 drug debt during a campaign of intimidation, the Special Criminal Court heard on Monday.

In the same incident, Mark Salmon (33) told the woman that he would drive over her son with his car, and if he was still not dead, he would "put a bullet in his head".

He later texted her saying: "You think 157k is going to disappear... sort it out or he's dead," and: "If you're worried about your son hanging from a rope, get a move on."

He further directly threatened her son in a text saying: "I'm going to get two junkies to tie you down and rape you."

Salmon (33), of Kilbarron Avenue, Kilmore, West Dublin, has previously pleaded guilty to possessing cash and other goods that were the proceeds of crime, possession of cocaine to a value of €35,280 and various threats to kill people or damage their property.

The three-judge court held a sentencing hearing where Det Sgt Domhnall O'Connell told Fiona Murphy SC, for the DPP, that Salmon used the threat of violence as part of an effort to intimidate people he accused of owing him money.

Justice Patrick McGrath ordered that the victims not be identified after hearing that they remain in fear for their safety.

Det Sgt O'Connell told Murphy that on March 26, 2024, gardaí stopped a man at a checkpoint in Carrick on Shannon.

When they searched his car, they found a brown envelope containing 504 grams of cocaine, valued at €35,280.

When gardaí analysed mobile phones also found in the search, they discovered messages and voice notes from Mark Salmon giving instructions on where to deliver the drugs.

The messages also stated that the person who had been driving the car owed €88,600 and that Salmon would reduce his debt by €600 for delivering the drugs.

The man's girlfriend's phone also revealed demands by Salmon for payment and threats to the man's life and his parents' home.

At around that time, the front windows of the man's father's home were smashed and his car was damaged. Det Sgt O'Connell said gardaí believe Salmon organised the attack but was not one of the three men captured by CCTV carrying out the damage.

In December 2023, another young man told his mother that he owed money to Mark 'Fishy' Salmon and was doing jobs to pay off the debt. He told his mother that Salmon wanted to speak to her and made arrangements for them to meet in January 2024 at a coffee shop in the Pavilions in Swords, north Dublin.

During a 45-minute meeting, Salmon told her that her son owed €157,000 and that he would give her one month to find the money or her son would be shot.

He called her one week later, but she reminded him he had given her a month to come up with the money. Shortly after that call, Salmon called her again to threaten that he would get "junkies to rape" her son and threaten to drive over him and put a bullet in his head.

There was one further meeting in which she told Salmon that it would not be possible to get that kind of money.

Her son fled to England, but she remained in fear for herself and the rest of her family.

She described Salmon as being "like a demon". She said she is not a soft woman and works in security in the city centre. However, Salmon caused her "pure fear" and left her "frightened to bits".

During subsequent searches of the homes of Mark Salmon's girlfriend's house and parents, gardaí seized various designer watches by Armani, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, Rolex and Tag.

Gardaí also carried out a forensic analysis of Salmon's bank accounts and various expenses, finding that he had unexplained income of €24,000 in 2022 and about €60,000 in 2023.

His previous convictions are all for road traffic matters and were dealt with at the District Court.

Det Sgt O'Connell said the mother of the man stopped at a checkpoint suffered a financial loss of €29,500 from handing over €7,000 to pay part of the drug debt and having been forced to stop working for six months to take care of her family.

In a statement read out by the detective, she said she had suffered a "high degree of anxiety and stress" and remains in fear. She was forced to leave her home and is now paranoid about her own security.

Her eldest son had to leave the country due to fears for his safety, and the stress has driven her family apart, she said. The second victim said she has lost €3,500 and has suffered depression, anxiety, loneliness and isolation.

Her son also had to flee the country, and she is afraid to visit him in case she is followed. She said her confidence and trust in people are gone.

Murphy told the court the maximum sentence for the drug possession charge is life imprisonment.

Dominic McGinn SC, for Salmon, said that of the roughly €84,000 of allegedly unexplained income in 2022 and 2023, his client says he can account for about €56,000.

Det Sgt O'Connell said gardaí do not accept the explanations given by Salmon, including that some of the money came from when he won a motorbike in a raffle.

McGinn said his client had written a letter to the court in which he set out "in eloquent terms his genuine remorse" and insight into the impact his offending has had on others.

Justice McGrath, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Fiona Lydon, will pass sentence on June 15.