A WELSHMAN who agreed to carry what he was told was duty free contraband into Dublin Airport has been jailed for 3 1/2 years for importing £170,000 worth of cannabis.
Paul James Juliff had gone to Spain to be with his father: after his parents separated. But things did not work out and he was desperate to get back to his mother's home in south Wales, Mr Patrick Marrinan, defending, said.
While he was suspicious when two men approached him in a McDonald's fast food restaurant in Torremolinos, he accepted their offer of a first class plane ticket and £200 to carry "duty free cigarettes" into Dublin Airport.
He had an idea the two suitcases he was given contained drugs, but he did not realise the scale of the operation, Mr Marrinan told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Juliff (21), of Mountain Ash, Mid Glamorgan, pleaded guilty to the importation of 17kg of cannabis on December 16th, 1996.
Sgt Kieran Holohan said Juliff was seen acting suspiciously at the baggage carousel in the arrivals hall. Customs officer Patrick Lynch noticed he did not seem to know what he was doing. He took two bags from the carousel, hesitated, then put them back, only to remove them again.
When stopped for a search, Juliff slumped and said: "I hope it isn't hard drugs like heroin or cocaine".
He could not open the combination lock on one of the cases as he did not know the number. The drugs were covered in a waxy material.
Sgt Holohan said Juliff, had been instructed to wear a designer jacket, a striped shirt and a pony tail so that his contact would recognise him. He agreed with Mr Marrinan that his appearance alone "might have given rise to suspicion". He also agreed Juliff was naive and was a once off drug courier.
Juliff's mother said the young people of Mountain Ash would not be as worldly wise as those elsewhere, and her son had never left the village before except to go on holiday.
He was never in trouble before, and when his younger brother got a call from St Patrick's Institution he thought it was a youth hostel. The family only discovered the accused man's situation a week later and had rallied around, agreeing to write him a letter a day, she said.
Judge Kevin Haugh accepted Juliff feared for his safety in St Patrick's and that there were "exceptional features" in the case. Juliff must have known, however, that he was not carrying "gin and cigarettes". He had to impose a custodial sentence but would keep it at the lowest possible.