A Scottish-based father of two is to be extradited to Ireland to face drugs charges. Mr James Smith is to be sent back to Ireland to go on trial accused of operating a cannabis factory. He has allegedly been on the run for more than three years after jumping £10,000 bail in 1997. He was arrested at a railway station in the Perthshire village of Dunkeld on Thursday night.
Mr Smith (38), of Tayside Place, Aberfeldy, fled from Ireland when he was due to go on trial on drug charges at Wicklow District Court. He was granted bail and gave more than £10,000 cash as a bond, but left the money behind and went into hiding. He is alleged to have operated a factory cultivating nearly 200 extra-strong cannabis plants known as skunk.
Mr Smith faces five charges relating to the drug and a further charge relating to the intended supply of amphetamines. The order to send him back to Ireland was granted by Sheriff Lindsay Foulis at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday. Fiscal deputy Chris Macintosh said: "There was a deliberate attempt for him to jump bail in the Republic of Ireland. It was important enough for him to lose £10,000 and stay well away from there and not answer the charges. It is contrary to the public interest and to international comity for Smith to be granted bail."
A solicitor, Mr David Holmes, said his client was afraid to be taken back to Ireland because he was fearful for his life. However, Mr Macintosh said that was an extra reason to believe he would once again try to avoid going to court. "We have been told that granting an order would be detrimental to the accused's well-being, because forces in other countries would be interested in his arrival there. That does not encourage me that the accused will adhere to the condition of a bail order."
Mr Smith had handed over the cash surety on June 30th and was released on bail to reappear on July 7th, 1997. The case centres on an alleged skunk factory in Co Wicklow. It is alleged that when a house was raided by the Garda they discovered 175 "skunk" plants growing there.