A Brazilian woman who tried to smuggle cocaine worth £2.5 million into Dublin Airport has been jailed for seven years by Judge Dominic Lynch at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Maria Emilia Bilibo (32), a landscape artist, is the first person to plead guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to importing drugs under the 1999 Criminal Justice Act. An interpreter translated the proceedings into Portuguese.
Ms Orla Crowe, prosecuting, said at an earlier hearing that under the 1999 Criminal Justice Act, there was a minimum 10-year sentence for anyone convicted of importing drugs worth more than £10,000.
Judge Lynch said the court was aware of the disastrous effect the sale and distribution of drugs had on society. The gravity of the offence merited an 11-year sentence, but he was satisfied that the relevant section of the Act did not apply, as there were mitigating exceptions.
Judge Lynch noted decisions by the Court of Criminal Appeal in reducing sentences on other non-nationals, particularly taking into account the extra difficulties faced by them in prison here, and also their previous character.
Bilibo had no previous convictions. She had co-operated with gardai and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Judge Lynch said the matter of deportation had been raised but was something he could only recommend to the authorities at the end of her sentence.
Det Garda Jim O'Driscoll said customs officials found just under 15 kg of cocaine hidden in picture frames which had been imported from Lima, Peru, on October 8th, 1999.
Bilibo was arrested when the frames were found in her luggage. She said she had agreed to import the drugs because she was offered £5,000 with an additional £1,500 expenses and a free flight.
Det O'Driscoll said Bilibo claimed she was separated and was trying to support her parents and two children. She told gardai she met a man called William at a disco in Lima. He asked her out on a date and offered her money to smuggle contraband into Ireland.
He said he had a house in Ireland and she could practise her landscape painting there any time she wanted.
Det O'Driscoll agreed with Mr Peter Finlay, defending, that Bilibo told gardai she and a friend had hoped to open a souvenir shop with drug-run money. She did not want to smuggle contraband but "William" listed the names and addresses of her immediate family and she felt intimidated.
Det Garda O'Driscoll said he believed Bilibo was truthful with gardai at all times and had co-operated as best she could. Mr Finlay said there were extensive qualifications to the Act which applied in this case.
He said the Act allowed judges to reduce sentence if the accused pleaded guilty and assisted gardai.