A truckdriver was a "soft touch" for a woman he met in Las Palmas and brought bag full of illegal cigarettes through customs for her, a court heard today.
Damien Gerard O'Kelly (38), Castlebar Road, Ballina, Co Mayo, was fined €650 after he pleaded guilty to attempting to evade duty on 10,300 cigarettes and 2.5 kg of tobacco which he tried to bring them through Dublin Airport on October 15th, 2001.
His solicitor told Dublin District Court he had "met up with a few lady friends" while on holiday and when they arrived in Dublin, one of them handed a bag to him and asked him to bring it through customs.
"When he declined, the lady took one of his bags and told him he would get it back when he took her bag through.", the solicitor said. "My client is extremely embarrassed because he stupidly took this bag."
Eight other people also admitted attempting to evade duty on cigarettes bought in the Canary Islands.