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An Irish man who traveled home from Brazil after hiding 49 cocaine pellets valued at more than 40,000 euros internally has been jailed for three years and three months.
Steven Smith (44), formerly of Ashbrook, Dundalk, Louth, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to illegal possession and importation of cocaine at Dublin Airport on November 21, 2013.
Smith left Ireland in 2014 after being released on High Court bail. He was returned to Ireland from the UK in June following an appeal to Crime Watch.
Judge Martin Nolan noted that Smith was a drug user at the time and was carrying out the crime in exchange for a reward, be it debt relief or a cash payment.
He noted that Smith had his problems, but admitted and cooperated with the investigation.
He said Smith was likely at the lower end of the drug transport operation and at considerable risk to himself when transporting the drugs.
Judge Nolan imposed a sentence of three years and three months, dated before June to reflect the time spent in custody.
bone scan
Garda Kevin Nolan told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that Smith was detained by customs officers at the airport in November 2013 after arriving home from Brazil via Amsterdam.
An X-ray was inconclusive, but a swab found traces of cocaine and during a conversation with airport police, Smith later revealed that he had 49 cocaine pellets hidden internally. He said they had pressured him to swallow them and bring them back. The medicines had a value of € 42,920.
He said he was going to get money and that he had done another drug career before. Smith was taken to Beaumont Hospital to have his pellets removed.
Previous convictions
Smith has prior convictions in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland for crimes including assault, robbery, drug possession and offenses against public order.
Defender Dominick McGinn SC said Smith was born in Ireland but moved to Canada with his family when he was 10 years old, staying there until he was a young adult. He said Smith had a son when he was 25, but went into a downward spiral when their relationship broke up.
Gda Nolan agreed. Smith told gardai that he moved to Ireland in 2006, but started using drugs and came into contact with people who asked him to go to Brazil after he got into debt.
Despair
The garda agreed that this method of importing drugs was a sign of despair or poverty and was not used by people “at the highest levels.”
Mr McGinn argued that while it was not his credit that Smith had gone to the UK, he had caused a “sea change” in his life during those years by obtaining a job and ending his drug use.
He asked the court to take into account Smith’s guilty plea, his admissions and claimed he was at the lowest end of the ladder.
McGinn delivered a letter from Smith in which he said he described his firm determination not to return to his old life and to build a brighter and more positive future. He said Smith had suffered from mental health problems prior to the offense and more recently after a head injury.
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