A Surinam national who swallowed 110 cocktail sausage size pellets filled with cocaine was jailed for five years by Judge Michael White at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Antonio Simon (39) carried the cocaine valued at just over €80,000 to Ireland for his Dutch girlfriend who had financially supported him for some time.
Det Sgt Martin Halpin told prosecuting counsel Cormac Quinn that the woman was also arrested when she arrived in Ireland some days after Simon. She could not be charged due to lack of evidence of any offence.
Simon, Develstein, Amsterdam, pleaded guilty to having 1,146 grams of cocaine for sale or supply on December 15th, 2005, at Dublin airport.
Conor Devalley SC, defending, said Simon was the father of children in Surinam and went to the Netherlands some years ago to try and better his family's circumstances.
Det Sgt Halpin said Simon had been profiled by Customs and Excise officers as a possible drugs "mule" and kept under observation after he arrived on a flight from Amsterdam. He was stopped some hours later when boarding a bus to the city centre, but searches of his person and baggage proved negative.
Gardaí were concerned for his safety when a urine sample proved positive for cocaine. He at first declined to go to hospital or take medicine to help him pass the drug, but later 110 pellets, each about the size of a cocktail sausage and containing around 10.42 grams of cocaine, were recovered.
Det Sgt Halpin said Simon told gardaí he carried the cocaine for his girlfriend. She had financially supported him previously and he was also to get €700 for expenses. Det Sgt Halpin agreed with Mr Devalley that Simon "broke down and berated himself for his stupidity" in this venture. He was also concerned that he would be jailed far away from his children while they grew up.
Judge White said it was a case which came within the provisions allowing for a sentence of less than the 10 years minimum to be imposed. He backdated the five-year term to December 15th, 2005.